Sorry about the hiatus, again, but here we are. No surprise what this episode was going to be about, given the title.
To start, I love recognizing scenery. The set department always does such an excellent job redressing the same sets, and the directors do pretty well shooting them from new angles. Of course they know that we know it’s Bobby’s house, but they work very hard to make it look new. In this case it was their “college” set, where we see Hogwarts. Straight away, they give us an Umbridge to hate. And hate her, we can and do.
I must admit mild surprise to find Mick had ever killed anyone. He seems so soft.
So real quick, I was super happy to see Shoshannah Stern as Eileen again. I loved her in the banshee episode, and also I think Sammy deserves to have something with someone. Last season, when they met the hunter couple in “The Chitters”, Sam asked Dean if he’d ever thought about settling down with a hunter or something. Of course, Dean poo-pooed the idea. But I still think Sam deserves it. And she’d make a lovely choice.
Dean deserves no less than his goddess, but that’s a conversation for another time.
So Umbridge gives Mick the order to “assimilate or eliminate”. I really don’t think she knows who she’s dealing with, here. The BMoL are the ones on the eliminate end of that equation, she just doesn’t realize it yet. But she will. You know it as well as I do. She will.
For all their posturing, the BMoL were honestly impressed by the Winchesters when they learned they’d faced, and beaten, Lucifer. The Winchesters knew about the nephilim. The Winchesters face and destroy at least as many monsters, and those of higher caliber, than the BMoL. Yet the BMoL are coldly efficient. They have some really fun toys. Their research is, now that Bobby’s gone, unparalleled. In all honesty, the Winchesters and the BMoL would make a great team if they could just be friends.
And Ketch and Mary. Raise your hand if you were surprised. Anyone? No? Me neither. David Haydn-Jones is incredible at thinking about and then talking about his character. He’s given a lot of thought to Ketch’s back story, his motivations, and who he really is. I very much appreciate the depth to which he’s considered the character and the sincerity with which he plays him. He’s a credit to the show, and I truly hope we get to keep him. I’ve enjoyed discussing Ketch both with him and others in the fandom over on twitter. There’s a lot of ideas floating around. I’d like to be perfectly clear about mine.
Here is how I see Ketch. He’s a killer. He’s the BMoL’s dog. But he can easily become one of the good guys. He can give himself orders. He can become a true hunter. He’s not only strong enough, he has the emotional fortitude to do it. Someone pointed out he’s much like a Vulcan, and while I disagree with their initial statement he’s incapable of the same depth of emotion as the Winchesters, I do agree he’s been taught to suppress emotion. But he reminds me SO MUCH of the Dean we met in season one.
Take Dean’s conversation with Gordon the first time they met him. He believed it was black and white, us and them, monster=evil. Yet in that very same episode he learned that there can be shades of grey. That you don’t always have to kill the monster, because sometimes the monster is just like you. They just want to live their lives, and if they can do so without harming anyone, are they really so monstrous?
Is Ketch?
There’ve been a few cracks in his veneer that reinforce my belief that he is really just a Winchester in a fancy suit. For example, he has the feelings for Mary. He is definitely more into her than she is into him. So, she’s made a start in thawing the icy exterior he wears like that well fitting suit. He identifies with Dean, and I think it’s working more on him than it is on Dean. I do not feel he has friends, but if he did, Mick would have qualified as one. Though he followed his orders to the letter, it disturbed him. Not only because he probably liked Mick, but also because killing his own people is something he knows, at his core, is wrong.
He’ll change sides. Whether this will be his undoing or not remains to be seen. I hope he survives the switch, because I think not only is Ketch a dynamic and interesting character who would add to the essence of Team Free Will, DHJ is a wonderful and thoughtful actor. He does not take this chance to join the SPN Family lightly, and he is dedicated to his craft.
OK, that’s my Ketch/DHJ gushing for this week. Back to the plot. The things I left out.
Dagon, Lucifer, Crowley, the nephilim and its mother. First of all, Crowley cannot be that thick. Please, for the love of Chuck, tell me he’s not actually falling for Luci’s bullshit. Come ON, Crowley. You’re smarter than that.
Second of all, Lucifer is working on his escape plan, and not doing too bad of a job. It’s killing me to watch him tell everyone what they want to hear and getting away with it. Good gracious but he is smooth. Gotta love that about him. His game is just as on point as ever.
Dagon, loyal servant, well I’m still not sure how I feel about her. She’s doing alright keeping Kelly safe and pregnant but I just don’t know about her as a Yellow Eyed demon. She seems a little…I don’t know. I’m going to have to see more of her. I want to like her, but I just don’t have enough information yet.
And poor Kelly. I just don’t know how she’s going to survive this. I can understand her compulsion to save the baby. I honestly can. But. BUT.
All in all, this was a strong plot heavy episode. The fact that Lucifer continues to be a presence each time they also bring up the BMoL tells me these two storylines will converge, either during the penultimate episode or the season finale. The BMoL will, in fact, find out what it’s really like to face Lucifer. There will be blood. There will be death.
There will be victorious Winchesters.
(All photos property of the CW)
Bethany A. Perry 