Supernatural 12 21 “There’s Something About Mary” Review

The title of this episode calls to mind hijinks and wacky comedy.

This hour was anything but.

There is so much to unpack about this episode, I will most likely miss something on this pass. I want to get something out of the way right up front, though. Besides the fact you know this is ALL SPOILERS.

Eileen.

I am so heartbroken. Hey producers! We WANT Sammy to be in a relationship. Please stop killing his love interests. It’s Dean we don’t want attached. FYI.

And of course I’ll address the elephant in the room. Yes, she was a girl. Yes, she died on Supernatural. A LOT of people die on Supernatural. The gender debate, as well as the ‘using death as a lazy writer’s crutch’ debate are entire blogs unto themselves. Whole conversations. Books, even. As such, I will not go into it here. I will not refer to Eileen’s death as a gendered thing, and will only cover it as a part of the story.

It’s where we join our story, Eileen’s death. Seeing her return just to die made me so sad on several levels. Seeing that Ketch was responsible? Not surprised. He is a man of principle, after all, and his principles stated that she killed a BMoL. Therefore, death sentence. I woke up thinking about Ketch this morning, though, and I’d like to go a little more in depth with him at the end of this. I do enjoy that the writers are keeping us guessing on his arc, and I look forward to seeing which path they’ve chosen.

I felt unutterably bad for Sam getting the news about and investigating Eileen’s death. Though she did serve another purpose in the story besides man pain. Proof of a pattern, as well as the clue laden letter she posted to them days before her death. I still think they would have found Ketch’s INCREDIBLY OBVIOUS mic without her help, but she did help them get at least just a little ahead of the game.

And when Mary encountered her hunter friend, Rick, that game took a hell of a twisted twist. At first, I thought it was a shapeshifter. Until poor Mary awoke in the BMoL’s Container Castle. It turns out Miss Lady Bitch Pants Suit is actually pretty good at her job, after all. Brainwashing is a new low, even for them. Oh, excuse me, Miss LBPS, “realignment”. And what was with all that crap she said to Mary about John? How dare she. I don’t care who’s locked in the bunker with the boys right now. I will never like that woman.

Raise your hand if you’re surprised the good Dr. Hess is in Crowley’s pocket? Now, we all know Crowley is slippery but why was he really at Castle Container? I think we all know that, as well. He was there to find out the BMoL’s intentions with the Winchesters. I fully believe he’d never let these stuffy numbskulls hurt our boys.

But he has problems of his own, now doesn’t he? When the boys called him to check up on the hellhound and he lied through his teeth, I knew for certain he was soon going to have to crawl to them for help. We saw Lucifer getting ready to break free, and I knew he’d get his ass handed to him. Then drag it, bumped and bruised, to the Winchesters. I was not disappointed on these points. Ah! Haha, surprised I hadn’t seen it sooner. He’s their way out of the bunker. He doesn’t believe in their loyalty enough without leverage, and will secure their help by going the extra step and getting them free.

Speaking of the bunker, once the Winchesters tricked the BMoL and the BMoL tricked them back, me laughing at the ease with which they took the guns and took back their home, I realized Ketch had brought his ace in the hole. Because we can’t appear to be slacking on the job, now can we, Ketch? Ah, sorry, my Ketch argument bled over. More on that below. Either way, it was pretty heartbreaking to see the boys watch Mary leave. Not because they could possibly think she’s been turned willfully. They have to know it’s against her will.

Alright, I’m already running long. I’ve missed about a thousand things. Hopefully I’ve hit most of the big things. I think the biggest, for me, is that the season finale is next week and the BMoL is coming to a head. The nephilim is coming to a head. There’s potential for a temporary pact between enemies as they work together to kill or cure Luci’s child. Mary is, as always, willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for her family. Not everyone is going to survive. I fear for Ketch, Mary, Crowley, and Lucifer. I don’t think the producers are ready to break the fandom just yet, so Castiel stays. But Jody’s coming back (two thumbs WAYYY UP), and I swear to god I will join the gender chorus if she dies.

In truth, it’s a bloody and brutal game the Winchesters play. What’s happened to Mary is a fate worse than death. If they can see a way to clear her without sending her back to heaven, I’m down for that. I prefer that. There’s so much more that can be done with Mary Campbell Winchester.

 

Here’s this week’s P.S.

The character of Ketch has really ensnared me. I love a well written character. Two of them have kept me coming back for twelve seasons and counting. Below are my clues that Ketch may not have been as two dimensional in this week’s episode as you might think. There was more than just that scene with Mary.

Clues:

1-He lies to Dean about having seen Mary. Ketch knows she’s still in touch with her boys. He KNOWS it. She told him as much. Why would he tell a lie he was so sure they’d catch? Does he underestimate them that severely? Or did he want them to figure it out? And if so, why?

2-Hess threatens him with command. There is no way in the world Ketch wants to be a leader. He’s no leader. He’s really, really, really against being put in charge. He doesn’t want to answer to Toni, but he also doesn’t want to be The New Mick. Bet he has a contingency plan in place against such a thing.

3-Here we are again. Obvious mic is obvious, Ketch. Simply a plot device? I don’t think so. I think our boys could have found the mic in the speaker just as easily. They are skilled investigators, after all. I feel like this is at least the second time Ketch warned them about the bunker. They should not have come back at the end. How many times does he have to tell them, they don’t have the only key?

4-Let’s talk about that scene with Mary. What do you think he was feeling as he walked in? As he walked out? My thoughts: Guilt. Both counts. He knows what Toni has been doing with her, and it tears him up. He knows what her family means to her. Seeing her ready to kill herself rather than hurt them, it showed him something he’d never seen. A depth of feeling he didn’t think possible. You could say he was acting. That he felt she was weak. David’s performance was so subtle, so nuanced, so delightful, it could really go either way. But Ketch let her get close enough to get the gun. She gets his guard down. Makes him feel something.

And wasn’t Samantha Smith something, as well? Such desperation. I just wanted to scream for Mary.

5-Bringing Mary along to trap the boys in the bunker was more than back up. He literally told them exactly what was going to happen. Warned them time after time. And built a backdoor into the plan so she wouldn’t have to hurt them. A cunning “escape”.

Now this, this was what I thought about when I woke this morning. He locked them in the bunker with Toni. Changed the locks. Reversed the airflow. One would think this was pretty clearly trying to kill them. But. But. Since when have we seen him “try” to kill anything or anyone? He just does it. There’s a reason why he didn’t just do it this time. Be it plot device, or character arc, well that remains to be seen. Just know, if TPTB choose not to redeem him, they could have. The story put it all in there. To me, it would be a hell of a missed opportunity if they don’t.

 

(All photos and screenshots property of the CW)

pps, I just realized I have been sorely lacking on pics of Sammy. Will fix next week. Promise.