Initial reaction 15.15: “Gimme Shelter”

[caranfindel]

THEN: Back to the mytharc. Billie. God. "You are the messengers of God's destruction." Amara. "You gave me what I needed most. I wanted to do the same for you." Billie's vague plan. Amara has to be taken out too.

NOW: Soup kitchen. They're doing their best to make the food look unappetizing, by tossing it sloppily onto a plate and spilling it over the sides of a bowl. One of the volunteers must be working off some community service time because she sure doesn't want to be here. Maybe she shoplifted that pretty quilted velvet jacket. She's complaining about a "creepy" client. Apparently the woman's dirty hat makes her unfit for a soup kitchen. The more wholesome girl next to her (you know she's wholesome because of her cardigan and headband) points out that she's still one of God's creatures (spoiler alert, hon: God does not care), but Velvet Girl instructs a boy named Connor to make her eat outside. Luckily, Hot Pastor gives Connor a little lecture on compassion, so he brings her some food instead. Hot Pastor and Wholesome Girl exchange smiles, though hers is not all that enthusiastic.

(Also, does that woman look familiar?)

Later. Connor is walking home when he hears someone call him from a dark alley (ha ha ha Connor NO). He follows the voice, of course, because he's in the THEN of a Supernatural episode and has no choice, and finds himself greeted by the creepiest no-eyed Teddy Ruxpin ever. As he contemplates the multilated talking teddy, he's grabbed by one of those hook things you'd use to capture an alligator or feral dog or something, and strangled. Buh bye, Connor!

Title card!

Bunker. Sam's looking for a case, and has only found "something" in Missouri that "feels like a case" probably isn't one. But Sam, it's Connor! Trust your feelings! Dean, on the other hand, is sure he has a solid case. Because last night the power went out in Atlantic City, for no discernible reason. "Darkness." Well, I don't think every instance of darkness is Darkness, but okay. Oh, there is one more bit of evidence - there's a big keno tournament this weekend. And Chuck said Amara loves keno.

I thought he was kidding.

He's not that funny.

Hee! Sam calls it weak, and Dean says "weak is all we have," which Sam cannot argue with. And quite honestly, Dean just wants to go to Atlantic City and hit the all-you-can-eat-prime-rib buffet. (Sigh. Remember buffets?)






Insert your own all-you-can-eat joke here. Don't forget the prime rib.

Enter Cas. Where have you been, ask the guys, because we missed you at Christmas, and Easter, and Halloween, and Sam's birthday. No, not really. But they are glad to see him, because someone needs to stay with Jack in case Billie's thing happens. I wonder why that wasn't an issue last week? Surely they weren't trusting Mrs. Butters to be the one watching Jack, considering that when they first left, they told him to watch her?

(Present Caranfindel is laughing at Past Caranfindel for thinking this is the biggest issue with this episode.)

Cas is not very happy with Dean's plan to do... whatever it is he's going to do with Amara. And really, what is he planning to do? He can't kill her. Is he going to try to bring her back to Jack?

Meanwhile, Jack is at Sam's laptop. He asks about the case Sam found, but Sam tells him it's "not our kind of thing." Tragic, not spooky. Dean suggests Jack and Cas go work the not-case. He mentions "the whole Mrs. Butters thing" and Cas has no idea what he's talking about, so wow, they really weren't communicating during that time. Or about that time.

Cas isn't interested in a regular human murder investigation and turns to Sam for support. "Dean's not wrong," Sam says. But that doesn't make him right, either. Anyway, Sam thinks maybe they can help, so it looks like Cas is stuck. And Jack's excited to wear his suit and matching ties.

By the way, that was about two and a half minutes of Winchesters. Why do I mention that? No reason.

Missouri. Agents Swift and Lovato show up and meet the sheriff, who is at the crime scene even though the crime happened so long ago that it was actually on the news already. She comments on how young Agent Lovato is. Agents Swift and Lovato ask about the presence tiny bags full of chicken bones, sulphur odor, or cold spots. None of that, but someone did carve the word liar onto Connor's body. They also cut off each of his fingers, "one by one," and shoved them down his throat. {Sidebar: How would the sheriff know the fingers weren't cut off all at the same time? Discuss.} And they found the mutilated bear. "Marvelous Martin, the talking teddy bear!" says Jack. "I have one! For my... stepson. Ronald." {Sidebar: Who gave Jack the bear???} They found another Marvelous Martin speaker hidden nearby, and there's security footage of someone in a mask. "I think someone's seen too many horror flicks," the sheriff says. Jack calls the crime "almost demonic."

(Oh, and this is our Matt Cohen-directed episode!)

Crossroads. Wait. We're still on Cas and Jack? Shouldn't we be cutting to the Winchesters after a B plot scene? Oh well, let's get through this side plot quickly. Cas summons a demon while Jack looks up the victim on social media "like Sam always says." {!} He needs Cas's permission, as his parent or guardian, to create an account. He uses his real name. Is this going to come back on us later? Anyway. The demon has affected a fake British accent and for one split second I think Crowley might be back. But no. He tells them no demons were involved in Connor's death, he's fascinated in angels solving human crimes, and oh, demons can't even make deals any more. "Rowena has a hard people will end up where they belong philosophy." Oh, my queen. Bless her. Since it's apparently a human crime, Jack thinks maybe they should just go back to the bunker and wait for the Winchesters. No; Cas thinks they can still help.

Hot Pastor's office. One of the workers or volunteers we saw earlier leaves for the day, but stops to steal some cash out of the donations box on her way out. Before she gets into her car, she hears someone calling her. Valerie is smarter than poor dead Connor - she turns away from the voice and takes out her phone. But even so, she's still confronted by a creepy Halloween mask.

After a commercial break, we... return to Missouri? Cas and Jack? Still? We're almost 12 minutes into the episode, and only 2.5 of those minutes have had the Winchesters on screen. Ah, okay, at least Cas is on the phone with them, and we do finally see the boys in the Impala. Dean advises them to split up - "have Jack drink the Kool Aid and sign up, you go in flashing the badge." When Cas asks about the search for Amara, Dean quickly ends the call. And at least we stay with Sam and Dean.

Apparently they've been on the road for almost two days (Atlantic City is a 22-hour drive from Lebanon, of course I checked!) and haven't talked about the Amara situation at all. Sam, like me, wonders what they plan to do. They can't kill her, but "we've got to set her up for her own death."

"Billie called us messengers of God's destruction," Dean says. "Did you think that was, what, gonna be easy? Bloodless? We knew there was gonna be a catch. At least this time it's not you and me." Gee, I wonder who it is going to be?

And that was about 90 seconds of Winchesters, if you're keeping track.




Not even well-lit Winchesters.

Back at the soup kitchen (sigh), Hot Pastor is finishing a mini prayer service. Jack shows up and asks Wholesome Girl "where can I find the Kool Aid?" (hee!) He clarifies that he wants to join, and asks her what Hot Pastor is doing. She explains that one of their members just passed away, and makes a Significant Exit when Jack asks if she was close to the deceased. Jack sits down to fill out his form and oh, guys, Alex posted it to his social media.


What have we done to deserve this boy?

Cas enters in time to catch Hot Pastor praying for God to watch over some poor guy who isn't going to be watched over, like, at all, because he's not a Winchester. (No shade; I feel the same way about this guy.) Agent Swift informs Hot Pastor (who is becoming less hot as the episode progresses, but I feel like I'm committed to this nickname, and also I really don't think they've even give the character an actual name) about Valerie's disappearance.

Cut to Valerie, unconscious, tied to a chair with some kind of device on her left hand. She wakes up and sees the word GREED painted on the wall, along with the money she stole and the creepy mask. Then a video monitor comes to life in front of her. It calls her a thief several times. A closeup of her hand reveals that the device is a little guillotine, with blades hovering over each of her fingers. One blade drops and her finger is chopped off. As she screams, a 3-hour timer appears on the screen. We see a red light indicated she's on camera. So, this is Saw, right? The horror movie someone watched too much of is Saw?


And what's going on with her right hand? Has she been skewered?

Back at the soup kitchen, Velvet Girl declares the new guy is hot. He brings his clipboard back and Wholesome Girl disappears again when Jack mentions Connor. Jack follows, and learns that she and Connor "dated, years ago, sort of... more like we watched a lot of old movies together." He commiserates by telling her he lost his mother. Coincidentally, Wholesome Girl's mom died three years ago. "Now it's just me and Pastor Joe." Oh, so he has a name and a daughter! She says he's a better preacher than father, and Jack says "I have more dads than most, and I always just feel like I'm letting all of them down." Oh, Jack! Wholesome Girl tells him to "put your trust in God, not people." The irony is laid down with a heavy hand this week, friends.

Cas questions Pastor Joe and learns that their organization is a "faith-based community," not a church. And people disappear come and go all the time. Like Brother Rudy, their A/V tech guy. Wholesome Girl attempts to interrupt their meeting and is rudely brushed off, prompting Pastor Joe to ask Cas if he has kids. "It's complicated," Cas answers. Yes, it is. There is some talk of love and service, take care of others, etc. We learn that Connor was closeted in the old church, which explains why his dates with Wholesome Girl were so very wholesome. And we're told "a saint is a sinner who keeps trying."

And that's our cute to finally cut back to the Winchesters, stopping to gas up the Impala. It's raining and there's snow on a car behind them and it really looks miserably cold. Dean refuses to buy snacks because he's saving room for the buffet he expects to hit in four hours. Sam informs him there are lane closures on the interstate that will put another hour between him and the buffet. They agree it's time for pork rinds, but when Dean turns to go inside, Amara is standing in front of him. "Hello, Dean. Miss me?"

Sam asks how she found them, and she says she smelled them from two states away. "You have a very distinctive musk," she tells Dean. {Sidebar: Is this a variation on people telling Dean how handsome he is, or a new category? Discuss.} And she knows Cas put out the word trying to find her. She's willing to talk, but she wants lunch first. Last time we saw hungry Amara, she was munching on souls, but now she's more interested in pierogis. I like to see some character growth. I also like to see more than 90 seconds of Winchesters at a time, but once again, I am denied.



With all of this precipitation, shouldn't Sam be MUCH more wet?

Valerie's timer runs out and she gets another finger cut off. Next!

Pastor Joe leads another prayer service, inclusively referring to many different religions/deities. Jack gives his classic awkward wave, and is invited to "give testimony." Oh, no. Don't make people do that on their first day. Cas, who is lurking in the shadows, offers to give his own testimony instead. He says he used to blindly follow orders but then he found a family and found his faith again.

Later, Jack asks Pastor Joe how he brings so many different people together. "I always say, people are God's hands. Each of us, a finger for him to use." Which is the perfect segue when the TV in the corner suddenly cuts to Valerie's timer and we see her lose another finger. "You won't save her," the TV declares. Jack runs to unplug the TV but it doesn't power off. He finds some kind of device with a USB drive stuck in the back of the TV, which should provide the video feed but not power. But what do I know. I am the smallest of God's fingers. {Sidebar: Or am I the middle finger? Discuss.} Cas thinks he knows who is responsible.

Pavel's Deli. Amara is served a plate of pierogis. I like that her wardrobe has lightened up from the past - she's wearing shades of pink. (More velvet! I like it.) Dean asks for her help taking Chuck down. "What makes you think I'd do that?" Dean knows they have life-long issues and Sam reveals he saw Chuck's memories of her refusing to help him. "Refusing to help him isn't the same as betraying him," she answers. Dean points out that he's been snuffing out universes, and she says "Why would I care about that? Remember how I wasn't a big fan of his universes anyway? Remember I am all about emptiness and peace? Have you forgotten?" No, she doesn't. But I do. Instead, she just says there's nothing they can do.

Dean tells her their pal Jack will be able to overpower and "trap" Chuck soon, but they need her help. She still refuses. Dean gets that he's her brother, but sometimes you just have to agree to murder your brother, you know? But she refuses to betray him. She tells the boys that they have no idea what she and Chuck really are, and says that what Death told them about her is "what you needed to hear." And I have to admit I don't remember much of the details, other than she needed to be kept locked up. But it's interesting that if Amara's little talk does contradict what we've heard before (LOL canon), they're pretending it was intentional. I like that. Good on you, Davy Perez, if that is in fact what you're doing. Anyway. When Chuck and Amara "split," i.e., when Chuck put her in the cage, it created the Big Bang. Dean leans pretty hard on the threw you in the cage part of this story, but Amara isn't falling for it. She believes it hurt him to do that to her, and she won't do it to him.

(Approximately 3.5 minutes of Winchesters, friends.)



Short, lovely minutes.

Cut to the interior of a dingy apartment. Jack bursts in, followed by Cas. Oh, it's Brother Rudy's apartment. And Brother Rudy is within, cuffed to the bed, very dead, with the word LUST painted on the wall. I guess someone watched Seven in addition to Saw.

Pavel's Deli. Sam and Dean are in the Impala. Dean starts the engine and Sam says "well, maybe it's for the better." What does he mean here? It's better that they're not going to save the world? Dean turns the car off and tells Sam to wait while he goes to ask her something. He plops down across from Amara and says "why?"

I told you, Dean, he's my -

No no no. No. Why did you bring her back? You said that you wanted to show me something. That you wanted to teach me something. I don't know if you were following along, but your little experiment? It came to a not-so happy ending. My mom is dead. So what exactly did you want to show me? What was the point?

I wanted two things for you, Dean. I wanted you to see that your mother was just a person. That the myth you'd held onto for so long of a better life, the life where she lived, was just that. A myth. I wanted you to see that the real, complicated Mary was better than your childhood dream, because she was real. That now is always better than then. That you could finally start to accept your life.

Hmm. And the second thing?

I thought having her back would release you. Put that fire out. Your anger. But I guess we both know I failed at that.

You're damn right.

Mmmm, okay. I just... did she really say that? Did she ever say that she wanted to teach him something? I know it wasn't in the same speech where she told him she was giving him what he needed most. I don't really have any memory of her saying that at all. Did I just forget? Y'all know how I forget things. Or is this coming completely out of left field?

Also. Is she really trying to tell Dean that his childhood dream - the dream that his mother didn't die when he was four years old - was something he just needed to get over? That he was wrong to wish his mom hadn't died? I mean, yeah, Mary wasn't the person he imagined she'd be. So what? Is that really a lesson he needed to learn? Did someone really need to tell him "Turns out your mom couldn't cook, and had a hard time bonding with two giant grown men when she was ripped away from her babies in heaven, and she banged both Arthur Ketch and Fake Bobby, so I guess you were wrong to have that little fantasy where she lived?"

{Is it just me? Discuss.}

Dean tells Amara he's not angry, he's furious (which is really just a higher degree of angry but okay) and lays into her. He's furious that he's been a hamster in Chuck's wheel all his life - he, and everyone else, including her. He tells her she's living in a dream world if she thinks Chuck gives a rat's ass about her. "Can I trust you?" she asks. "I'll never hurt you," he lies. So she says she'll think about it.

If you're keeping track, that was another 3:45 minutes of Winchesters, although Sam was only in the first 32 seconds of it.




Nothing much to say here other than I like Dean's upset face.

Back in Missouri (sigh), Wholesome Girl is quietly freaking out, apparently over the news about Brother Rudy. Velvet Girl sits next to her and informs her Pastor Joe is freaking out as well. Velvet Girl is more concerned about posting the news to social media. "So many frowny faces!" Wholesome Girl produces a knife and stabs her. Well, she had it coming.

Time jump. Pastor Joe is providing first aid to Velvet Girl. Velvet Girl says "She's here! It's Sylvia! The storage room!" I guess Sylvia is Wholesome Girl? And I guess, after we cut away from the stabbing, Sylvia told Velvet Girl that she'd stashed Valerie in the storage room?

Frowny face.

Pastor Joe goes to the storage room and finds poor fingerless Valerie. Sylvia jumps him with the knife and we get their backstory, mom put her trust in God and died anyway, blah blah blah I don't care. Jack rushes in and Sylvia makes a motion like she's cutting his throat but it doesn't look cut. Then she stabs Jack and sees the wound light up. Cas comes in and puts her to sleep with the grace fingers. He heals Valerie as Pastor Joe watches. "What are you?" Pastor Joe asks.

Time jump.

You're an angel?

Not a very good one.

Hee! Not-So-Wholesome Sylvia is led away in handcuffs. Pastor Joe promises she won't be alone. The police officer picking her up seems to be the crossroads demon from earlier, so, yeah, that might be more true than you think, Pastor Joe. He feels guilty about spending his life taking care of other people instead of her. Apparently this is a guilt trigger for Cas? Whatever.

Later. Cas and Jack are in the old truck that I wish would be given to Sam. Cas asks why Jack didn't want to give his testimony earlier. Jack admits he's been lying about Billie's plan. "I'm gonna die. When we - when I - kill Chuck and Amara, I'll die too. Billie's spell's been turning me into some kind of bomb. And when I go off, God and Amara will cease to exist. And I won't survive. Don't tell Sam and Dean. They won't understand. This is the only way they'll ever forgive me."

Well! Another bomb. I guess it's a good thing Dean cemented Jack's guilt last week. Cas insists he'll find another way, and Jack tells him it's not his choice.

Bunker. Dean, in the dead guy robe, finds a bottle of whiskey and drinks right out of it. He sees Cas, who says they didn't want to wake him up. They chat about their day and then Cas says "I'm going to look for another way. I have to. Dean, in case something goes wrong, and I don't make it back, there's something you and Sam need to know." Fade to black! (That was 1 minute and 10 seconds of Dean. No Sam.)

Oh, lord. I know I should care that Jack is going to die, but it's not like I thought they'd all be living happily ever after anyway, right? So this is not having near the emotional impact they intended. You know what is having an emotional impact? This was one of six episodes left, and it contained about 12.5 minutes of Winchesters. Even less of Sam. It's like they had to give Cas all the time he was supposed to have last week. And it was even a Davy Perez episode. I like Davy's episodes. Why waste him on this nonsense?

Sigh. So many frowny faces. Now it's time to see what you guys think. Remember, no spoilers in the comments please, including episode titles and casting information. {smooches!}

Comments

[fanspired]

> "You have a very distinctive musk," she tells Dean. {Sidebar: Is this a variation on people telling Dean how handsome he is, or a new category? Discuss.}

No, I think this is a variation on Mrs B commenting that they don't have time to clean their clothes . . .


I concur with your frowny faces. MInd you, that would have been J2's week off episode, before anyone knew they were going to get several months off, so hopefully we can count on them being fully present for the rest of the season. (Or else >:[ )

[kazluvsbooks.livejournal.com]

I so hope so!!!

[borgmama1of5.livejournal.com]

I am getting more certain that I am going to be disappointed by the final episodes...

[fanspired]

If my expectations of the final episodes were disappointed, that would actually be a good thing : /

[caranfindel.livejournal.com]

I’ve accepted that.

☹️☹️☹️

[borgmama1of5.livejournal.com]

You know what's really sad? I have lived my entire 64 years without cable or other fancy TV connections. The only thing I watch on TV is this show. But in my new apartment the CW doesn't come through properly and the last two episodes have been badly pixilated and very frustrating to watch.

So I am signing up for cable TV just to get the last 5 episodes.

Who does that kind of thing?

Supernatural fans, obviously...

[mangacat201.livejournal.com]

I don't know,... Since I realized the moment they split the cases that it was going to be very Winchester light (I don't know why, I just had a feeling the Atlantic City setup was so paper thin we werent going to spending a lot of theme with them) that fact didn't bother me as much as it could and the intended emotional impacts hit me pretty good.

What I liked most about this episode was the way it dealt with themes (maybe in a bit heavyhanded way at times but still overall with an emotional Oomph that got me)... Like, it was always about family and being in tough situations where the boys had to grow up fast and take on roles they were not prepared for, but this felt me for the first time like they're philosophically, maturely dealing with fatherhood - parenthood really - and what it means for them to have grown out of defining themselves by their parents, Sam, Dean, Cas, all (Sidebar: can I just say how much I adore that Cas is the Worrywart-Dad, Dean is the Fun-Dad and Sam is the Boss-Dad everyone defers to? That was such a great little exchange). They've been growing into the perspective and responsibility from the other side, and the change it means for the way they act and make decisions (like presumably telling people the big stuff before it comes to bite them in the ass, like working to let go of things even though it's nigh impossible, like stepping up to be a leader even though you'd rather be a scholar).
I don't know if I'm reading too much into things, but I feel like what I got out of this is that Chuck and Amara are, for all they power and ancient wisdom, really both children who never had the benefit of a parent to guide them and act accordingly. And now that Team Free Will has experience with both sides of the coin, the good the bad and the ugly, maybe that's what's need to save the world more than heroes - a present parent who cares. Yeah, I'm definitely reading too much into this.
But Dean's upset face was so pretty.

(And of course you are the the middle Finger :) )

And to cap of this aimless rambling comment: Silliness!

Yep, I also thought that drifter woman in the beginning would have more significance (spoiler alert, she's not even posted in the extented vast on IMDb), BUT some familiar faces!
Apparently Serialkiller!Sylvia was in Everybody Loves A Clown (clearly there's some residual teenage trauma going on) I don't remember her role, but I did remember her face!
And Hot Pastor Joe is.... Drumroll... DR SEXY. (I knew I'd seen that chiseljaw before,...)
So, I just needed to male that known.

[caranfindel.livejournal.com]

Wait. WHAT? He’s Doctor Sexy????

[mangacat201.livejournal.com]

LOL... yeah, I thought that might get your attention. and YEP, looked it up and everything, actor played Dr. Sexy in Changing Channels. Been a dozen years, but once you know, you see. :) I won't say he found God somewhere along the way and became a pastor, I think that's probably a bit of a stretch, but I've been enjoying the return-of-the-bit-player bingo very much this last season.

[kazluvsbooks.livejournal.com]

I thought Matt did a good job directing, and it was at least like a mini horror movie, which was well done. .

Reminded me of the the spin off episodes, a teeny bit of winchesters but nothing else quite good enough to make up for it.
So very little Sam.
If he was cut out, and we just had Dean, the ep would have been exactly the same. Frowny face.

I know both davey perez and Matt Cohen are huge Jensen fan boys (and who can blame them, but come on!!)
Even when Sam was sitting next to Dean in the diner, he was often blurred out.
This is what annoyed me in S12! I don't know if it was the direction or editing but at least use Jared if he is there. I am thinking some of his reactions, lines, and possibly a scene, were cut.
Upset Frowny face.

[sylsdarkplace]

SO little Sam! And Dean tried to freeze him! I mean couldn’t Dean have left the car running while he went back to confront Amara?!

[noybusiness.livejournal.com]

That would be one of those normal life problems they don't have to deal with. ;)

[kazluvsbooks.livejournal.com]

Hahaha, I didn't even think of that 😂❄❄️❄️😨

[verucasalt123.livejournal.com]

I would just like to point out that if they've decided to wrap up 15 years of my favorite show with torture porn (last week fingernails, this week fingers), I'm really unhappy with that. I object. Strenuously.

[cuddyclothes.livejournal.com]

I love Jack but yeah, I wanted more Winchesters. And the show's fetish with torture porn...UGH. What's with doing things to hands all of a sudden?

It's so great to have your episode recaps again!