Holy Cow! An anti-death. Instead of a beloved character being killed off, a beloved character is actually resurrected. And in a unique way, that is apparently free of side effects. It's great having Eileen back, although she did make a pretty cool ghost-- she was really starting to get into her ghostly powers. I wonder if she will be a regular now. I certainly would not object to her and Sam getting it on.
And Castiel seems to have ended his walkabout. It was interesting seeing him out on his own as a Solo Hunter. He has come a long way from his days as an inexplicably naive Angel. Although it was weird that he was able to take a bunch of bullets Superman-style but had a hard time healing the kid. He also wasn't able to heal Ketch. Something is up, but is it connected to the issues he's had with his Grace or maybe with the lights going out in Heaven?
I'm thinking the bullets took a toll on him, which is why he had a difficult time healing the boy. I also believe Castiel will be off to The Empty by the end of the series.
Side note: Every season has a variation of the result of the explosion after the words Supernatural appear on screen. This season's black, gooey strands made me realize they're indicative of The Empty.
You can have my Oxford comma when you pry it from my cold, dead, and lifeless hands.
I'm thinking the bullets took a toll on him, which is why he had a difficult time healing the boy.
That could be. He must have been healing himself.
I also believe Castiel will be off to The Empty by the end of the series.
I'm a little worried about that, too.
Side note: Every season has a variation of the result of the explosion after the words Supernatural appear on screen. This season's black, gooey strands made me realize they're indicative of The Empty.
Good theory. I've been wondering how that title sequence represents Chuck, thinking that maybe it represents his real form or something, but it probably is the Big Empty.
Since this is the final season, it seems the story is taking the route of closure. Old friendships are being terminated or taking a new form. Now, it has been determined Sam and Chuck are bonded due to the wound from The Equalizer; however, the flashback with what Amara told Chuck tells me she'll be returning.
You can have my Oxford comma when you pry it from my cold, dead, and lifeless hands.
I always forget about the website option. Luckily it was on On Demand this morning.
So I got my wish and Eileen is still around, with hints of a romance brewing there. And speaking of hints, I wonder if Dean's conversation with Lee, where Lee says nobody cares and there's no reason to bother, and Dean replies that he cares and you always have to fight, foreshadows that possible ending where Sam and Dean take over Heaven and Hell. Perhaps just wishful thinking, but....
It was nice to see Christian Kane guest starring. I loved the cast of The Librarians. I wish somebody could get a revival going.
And we now have confirmation, as if we needed it, that Sam and Chuck are connected. And Sam has confirmed that Chuck is weak to the point where he can be defeated. The question is how, and what will the result be? Will they kill him or confine him? And can the universe survive God's death? I can't help but think that they will somehow sway him and bring back the good Chuck.
And Angel Radio has been silent for months. Lots of foreshadowing going on this week, I think.
Looks like the boys found a chink in Chuck's armor. It's interesting to see that their universe's Michael was found. I'm still betting Amara and Jack make a return as well.
You can have my Oxford comma when you pry it from my cold, dead, and lifeless hands.
Well, this was certainly an eventful episode. And I was right about Rowena taking over Hell, which was pretty cool. No Ketch as her consort, unfortunately, although there was nothing to say that he isn't there with her somewhere.
One bit of news is that they confirmed that Chuck can't be killed, otherwise the universe will fall apart (maybe they already confirmed that during the season when Amara was the Big Bad, but I don't remember). So now the plan is to lock him away somewhere, which strikes me as very dicey, especially in the long run. I still think that the best resolution, both in story and dramatic terms, is to nurture Chuck's better nature. There would be some poetry in the notion of Man saving God's soul.
It was nice to finally get some closure for Adam, and he played a good part-- or two good parts, since he is also Michael. And Michael has seen the light, so to speak, and did contribute some assistance before walking. I wonder if we'll see either one of them again. But now they have some hope of overpowering Chuck.
But it seems like they better work fast. Chuck didn't lure Sam and Eileen out to a deserted garage just to say hi-- and, come to think of it, he lured Eileen out there specifically, which is kind of disturbing.
Well, Cass has certainly come a long way since his naive bumpkin days-- he not only called out Dean, but bossed him around a couple of times in this one. So has Dean, for that matter. That look of hopelessness on his face in Purgatory (foreshadowing Sam's predicament) was horrifying, and his plaintive apology-by-means-of-confession was heartbreaking. But Cass heard his prayer, and all is well in that corner of the Universe.
But not so well in the other Winchester corner. Dark Chuck has really gone Old Testament on the boys. I'm a little surprised that he was able to make Sam lose hope with his little not-so-wonderful life scenarios. Chuck is obviously not above lying. Another surprise is that they erased the magical connection between Sam and Chuck so soon. It all seems pretty pointless now.
And for crying out loud, Eileen is gone. And on the "I have to after what I did" pretext. Well, at least she's not dead again....
Another great moment was Dean's calm acceptance of Sam's failure to smite Chuck. Sam said he believed the visions and "That's good enough for me."
And almost as if to balance Eileen's departure, Jack is finally back! And Billie! And... "It's time." For what? It actually would be pretty cool if Jack took over as the new God to keep the balance of the Universe, because he was basically raised by Sam and Dean-- it would, in essence, be their heroic nature that saved all existence.
Well, Cass has certainly come a long way since his naive bumpkin days-- he not only called out Dean, but bossed him around a couple of times in this one. So has Dean, for that matter. That look of hopelessness on his face in Purgatory (foreshadowing Sam's predicament) was horrifying, and his plaintive apology-by-means-of-confession was heartbreaking. But Cass heard his prayer, and all is well in that corner of the Universe.
But not so well in the other Winchester corner. Dark Chuck has really gone Old Testament on the boys. I'm a little surprised that he was able to make Sam lose hope with his little not-so-wonderful life scenarios. Chuck is obviously not above lying. Another surprise is that they erased the magical connection between Sam and Chuck so soon. It all seems pretty pointless now.
And for crying out loud, Eileen is gone. And on the "I have to after what I did" pretext. Well, at least she's not dead again....
Another great moment was Dean's calm acceptance of Sam's failure to smite Chuck. Sam said he believed the visions and "That's good enough for me."
And almost as if to balance Eileen's departure, Jack is finally back! And Billie! And... "It's time." For what? It actually would be pretty cool if Jack took over as the new God to keep the balance of the Universe, because he was basically raised by Sam and Dean-- it would, in essence, be their heroic nature that saved all existence.
This episode was one of the better ones in years. As you stated, Castiel finally told Dean not to be a raging, bull headed dumbass and Dean finally listened. I thought for certain that attempting to cut the festering wound from Sam would have hurt Chuck as well since the two were connected. I think that would have made for a more interesting change to Chuck's tactics.
I am not the least bit surprised that Chuck will lie to get what he wants. Everyone and everything he has created are his personal playthings. As Sam told him, he (Chuck) can't get his hands dirty. He likes to watch. The interesting (first) twist was Chuck telling Sam that Sam was actually seeing memories of Chuck's memories of the different versions of Sam and Dean. So, Sam really didn't have an ace up his sleeve regarding Chuck.
The second interesting twist was seeing Billie in The Empty with Jack. I suspected from the start of the Season we'd see Jack again, but this is not how I figured it would be. Billie's involvement tells me Chuck has pissed off a lot of people, so they are all plotting against him. I wonder where the shadow guy is, and also if Billie will bring Lucifer back as well.
You can have my Oxford comma when you pry it from my cold, dead, and lifeless hands.
I wonder if she will be a regular now. I certainly would not object to her and Sam getting it on.
And read 
