Supernatural Season 14

[Gary]

Kind of a meh episode as we know Mary is now gone for good, but we can see there is something seriously wrong with Jack. At least everyone in the group is shouldering a bit of the blame, although Dean is being a bit harsh toward Castiel. What the heck happened with Heaven? How did the issue with "keeping the lights on" get resolved? The writers dropped the ball on this one, because Castiel also stated he couldn't go back and talk to Jack when he had the chance. How did they forget Angels have time travel powers? Or is that yet another ability Castiel no longer possesses?

Based on the previews for the next episode, I'm guessing Jack is being set up as the final being Sam and Dean must defeat. It also looks like many renegade angels are setting up Jack to use him for nefarious purposes since he is damaged goods.

[RJDiogenes]

Okay, I really wasn't happy about that. I don't understand the point of killing off Mary with only two episodes (and one more season) to go. I'm glad that they at least made a point of saying that she is happy and complete in Heaven (and now we know where John is, although not why he was missing in that earlier episode-- unless Mary's Heaven is just an illusion). But I'm really tired of shows killing off good characters just because. I'm pretty sure that Chuck will return by season's end, but now that I've seen the episode I don't think that he will restore her. It was just done with too much finality.

And Nick is still dead. I was sure that he would be back, but he only made it in the form of a hallucination. There's still a couple of episodes to go, though, and Lucifer is still awake in the Big Empty, and I still don't think he's gone for good.

I'm kind of worried about what they will do to Jack, though. He's been pretty much established as a third Winchester bro at this point, but now I'm not sure that he will be saved. Maybe the final season will hearken back to the first, with just the two Winchesters against the world. Or maybe Chuck will restore Jack's soul.

What the heck happened with Heaven? How did the issue with "keeping the lights on" get resolved?

I don't know. Hopefully they didn't just decide to ignore that, because it's an interesting storyline. We didn't get too see too much of Heaven to really know, but we do know that Naomi couldn't or wouldn't see Cass.

The writers dropped the ball on this one, because Castiel also stated he couldn't go back and talk to Jack when he had the chance. How did they forget Angels have time travel powers? Or is that yet another ability Castiel no longer possesses?

I don't know, but there must be some catch to time travel, otherwise Cass would just jump back every time something went wrong.

[RJDiogenes]

New episode tonight!

[Gary]

Looks to me like Naomi was taken by the creature from The Empty. I'd forgotten about her being "consumed". Interesting how Duma assumed control of Heaven and put one of our theories into practice by getting Jack to make angels.

Here's what I think happened. When Lucifer was trying to escape The Empty, I think he was able to jump from The Darkness into Jack very quickly. His presence has been causing issues for Jack, which is why Jack has been acting out of control. Lucifer doesn't like the Winchesters, so it makes sense he would have wiped out Mary. Then again, he may explain it away as his not having been fully able to take control of Jack. Anyway, he's been trying to take control and, once inside the box, is how he got Jack to let loose. Who we saw from the carnage of Jack going "full power" looked like Lucifer. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm thinking that's what happened. I'd like to know how Jack was able to escape. Perhaps his being a Nephilim means he didn't quality as having the characteristic of an archangel.

The season ending is going to be interesting.

[RJDiogenes]

Wow, this sounds good. Unfortunately, it wasn't on On Demand yet when I went to watch it.

[Gary]

Just stream it directly from the CW's website: Jack-in-the-box.

[RJDiogenes]

Good idea. I'll do that tonight.

[RJDiogenes]

Okay, that was a pretty eventful episode. The season is certainly not winding down in any of the ways that I predicted, other than Jack going off the rails.

I'm sorry to see Duma get sent off to the Big Empty, even if she did turn out to be kind of Old Testament. I like Erica Cerra. But I wonder if this means that Cass will be able to get Naomi out of her very little room. And what will become of those people that Jack brought to Heaven? Are they Angels now, or did he not complete the process? Would it really have worked anyway? Are they Angel enough to help keep the lights on in Heaven? Heaven didn't really seem to be as bad off as it used to be.

The Winchester boys are really going to regret being deceitful with Jack. Even without a soul, he still meant well and was open to advice-- he just needed to be around people with better advice. They probably could have talked him into returning to Heaven under Cass's supervision until they figured out a way to restore his soul (if Angel grace can be restored, why not a human soul?). Now he's blown up the magic coffin that was strong enough to hold an Archangel and his eyes are all glowing and stuff and things look really bad. I hope they don't destroy the MOL Bunker. That would really suck.

[Gary]

I still think Lucifer has taken over Jack's body and powers.

[RJDiogenes]

So that's really him, not a hallucination? I like that idea. That would get Jack off the hook.

[RJDiogenes]

Season Finale tonight!

[RJDiogenes]

Well, yeah, Holy Crap indeed. I've been looking forward to Chuck's expected return, but I wasn't expecting anything like this. But you know what they say: Chuck answers all prayers, but sometimes the answer is "Zombie Apocalypse."

One of the things that's always intriguing about Chuck's appearances is the suggestion of limitations to his powers. Apparently he can't just restore Jack's soul with a snap of his fingers like he can restore the world. And he seemed to admit that he was nervous about Jack because Jack has "Chuck-level" powers. Or was he lying? Is it really all just about the story, about Chuck's favorite show? Are they really suggesting that all the pain and misery in the world is just because God is nothing but a writer? You know, I'm really offended and outraged at the negative portrayal of writers on this show. Writers contribute a lot to society. We deserve better representation and agency. Or at least better agents. Anyway, it seemed very odd that all-knowing Chuck could be surprised by Dean's actions-- and it seemed even weirder that he tried to bribe Dean by offering to resurrect Mary. Not to mention that he was able to fry Jack so easily after saying that he couldn't. I kept thinking that everything that was happening was some kind of test-- or temptation-- to see how the boys and Cass performed. And I still don't think that that is necessarily off the table.

But for all appearances, as we head into the final season, we've got the actual Biblical Apocalypse when the graves give up their dead and stuff, however that goes. I find this intriguing, because for a long time I've thought of Supernatural as the Third Testament, and that the Winchesters would be game changers in the state of the world and its relationship to Heaven and Hell. Perhaps that will actually happen. It could be that Chuck is testing humanity by means of the Winchesters or it could be that he will be the Big Bad of the final chapter. Maybe one or both of the Winchesters will replace him. Assuming they aren't both consumed by cannibalistic Zombies and that the final season isn't set in the Squirrelverse.

And what about Jack, out there in the Big Empty? Was that wiggly black thing the Big Empty Curator or Lucifer? And there was Billy, telling Jack that they have to talk-- the assumption would be that she wants to talk to him about being dead, but I think there's something more to it than that, especially after she came up in conversation between Dean and Chuck.

Looks like next season is going to be a mighty weird finale. I can't wait.

[Gary]

You beat me to the punch. WOW, indeed. When Chuck happened along, I figured he was going to lend guidance to the Winchesters, et. al. I had no idea he was going to end up being a twisted jerk who is the final "big bad" the Winchesters must defeat. My theory about Jack being possessed by Lucifer was obviously wrong; however, I'm not surprised the box couldn't contain Jack since he's not an archangel.

I got a kick out of Chuck putting Dean in his place when Dean initially demanded answers. Dean's not accustomed to people pushing back, so that was very humorous (to me). Overall, Chuck was probably lying about not being able to restore Jack's soul. He presented Jack as quite the opponent, stating he himself could not use his ultimate weapon to kill Jack due to the universal constant of balance. As the scene played out in the cemetery, he demonstrated how he was hoping "the story" would play out. He wanted old fashioned Abraham and Isaac, yet the rest of the group refused to play along. We now have his ire invoked and the statement that it's 'The Ending'.

Looking back, he had some harsh comments about Billie. He preferred the previous Death because she interferes too much or interprets the rules differently. I am also curious who or what that black being is. I'm thinking Billie is involved because things aren't right, so she's going to ensure they are.

One of the best season endings for a show. I hope the final season isn't a slog, but yields a reasonable and satisfying ending.

[RJDiogenes]

Definitely the best cliffhanger they've had on this show. I'm excited and scared for next season.

Chuck's behavior still seems off to me, but he is, after all, the Christian God. We've seen him go from benign to wrathful in a nanosecond before.....