Supernatural 5.16 Episode Discussion [spoilers!]
Summary: Two hunters kill Sam for starting the Apocalypse, and Dean because if they didn’t then he would come after them. When they wake up they’re in Heaven where Zachariah is hunting them down, with plans to torture and then resurrect them. Cas helps out by possessing the Metalicar and various and sundry electrical equipment. They find an angel called Joshua who speaks to God and who tells them that God feels as if he’s interfered enough and he’s not doing anything else - then Joshua resurrects them, Dean calls Cas, tells him that God’s a dead beat dad and then makes extra sure to stomp all over Sam’s heart . . . dramatic pause between soul crushing gesture included. A boat load of plot points are resolved, all hope is lost. Yada yada. THE END.
Commentary
First: I LOVE this show.
Second: And those hunters are so, so DEAD.
Third: I really liked the Supernatural version of Heaven. It makes sense to me that Heaven is what you make it, a constant replay of your happiest moments. That said, Dean's first “memory” in Heaven broke my heart to bits . . . and then Cas put it back together again when he possessed the Metalicar and Dean complained that Cas had to stop stalking his dreams. Oh the implications!
Alas, my euphoria was quickly quashed when we saw Sam’s idea of Heaven. He so obviously wanted to have a family and be loved . . . but he just didn’t know how to recognize the fact that it was right in front of him all along.
Speaking of not recognizing what was right in front of him, Dean’s recollection of the fight between Mary and John - bet that’s going to come back to mean something important. The longer this goes on the more I believe that John Winchester knew just about everything concerning his sons . . . either that, or Michael left behind some sort of “command” after he de-possessed John that would make sure that Dean was the perfect soldier, the perfect hunter of all things that go bump in the night - the perfect Vessel. Like Mary Winchester said, Dean is her “Little angel.”
Oh!! Most importantly, we finally see the origination of Dean's pie obsession!!
Fourth: The whole Axis Mundi concept is brilliant. I also found the fact that Dean had such an intuitive grasp of Heaven very interesting . . . The implications of Dean's easy interpretation of "The Road" are straight forward: he’s always been connected to Heaven. I really think that Michael has had a much larger presence in Dean’s life than is first evident.
Fifth: So, this episode finally brought ALL of the Winchester issues to a head. After 5 seasons it was about damned time! Seriously, all that is and ever was an issue between Sam and Dean has now been brought to light. I don’t think this is the end of the Brothers Winchester, I think that now that all of their true opinions are out in the open that the “wound” can now purge and heal the right way - which could not happen with the patchwork stitchery that has been seeing them through until now.
That said, the final scene where Dean throws out the amulet Sam gave him. Wow. That just killed me. Poor, poor, Sam. And wasn’t that the most ironic moment of the whole show: Sam now has faith for the first time and Dean has just tossed his away.
Sixth: OMG. Wincest this episode was for you! Soul mates. What more do y’all want? They both inhabit the same corner of Heaven and thus they’re canon soul mates. Sheesh. If that line doesn’t spawn a load of fanfic then everyone should have their fan licenses revoked.
Seven: Pamela is an idiot in so many different ways I won’t go into it. . .
Okay, I lied.
What the fucking fuck! Telling Dean it’s okay if millions of people die. Apparently, Heaven either makes you a super genius or a total twit. Guess Pamela was an example of the latter.
Seventh: Return of Evil!Mary. Gotta love that Lady. . . and creepy Zach is creepy! His bright idea is to torture the guy who spent years in Hell into doing what he wants?? Ooookay. Guess that’s another one that Heaven made stupid. Though the actor totally knocked every scene out of the park. I loved him.
Eighth: Joshua is my new BFF. He just had the right tone and attitude for the character. I can see him as a great reflection of his Biblical character - a wizened warrior of Faith. Consequently, I really like how they handled God and wrapped up a TON of plot points! Let’s list!
- God resurrected Cas.
- God put Dean and Sam on the airplane and saved them from Lucifer.
- God forgave Sam and brought him to Heaven.
-- And the multiple Winchester visits to Heaven made a schizzle load of sense. Hmmm. Wonder if Dean and Cas met before Cas gripped Dean tight and raised him from Perdition. Oooooo. The fic possibilities!
- A bajillion more things that I can’t list because I’m sooooo excited about the next point!!!
Ninth: Cas’ final line, “I had Faith in . . .” can be interpreted in two ways.
- Cas has lost his faith in God.
- Cas, as his belief in God was being ripped apart realized that his Faith was never in God, but in Dean. He never named the person he had Faith in, and it’s easy to assume that he’s talking about God. But if you re-watch the scene, Cas stops in the middle of his sentence and turns to look at Dean before vanishing. I’m not saying it’s a likely interpretation, but it is nonetheless a bit valid and a great point to pick up a plot bunny especially when we recall the line, “I did it all for you.” If Cas was doing it all for God, that last pronoun would have been a bit different. Damn this episode was just full of plot bunnies.
Tenth: I really enjoyed this episode. It moved well, dealt with some really relevant plot points and tied up so many loose ends. What more could I ask for and what a breath of fresh air after that last dud. Finally, we're getting to the point!!
Commentary
First: I LOVE this show.
Second: And those hunters are so, so DEAD.
Third: I really liked the Supernatural version of Heaven. It makes sense to me that Heaven is what you make it, a constant replay of your happiest moments. That said, Dean's first “memory” in Heaven broke my heart to bits . . . and then Cas put it back together again when he possessed the Metalicar and Dean complained that Cas had to stop stalking his dreams. Oh the implications!
Alas, my euphoria was quickly quashed when we saw Sam’s idea of Heaven. He so obviously wanted to have a family and be loved . . . but he just didn’t know how to recognize the fact that it was right in front of him all along.
Speaking of not recognizing what was right in front of him, Dean’s recollection of the fight between Mary and John - bet that’s going to come back to mean something important. The longer this goes on the more I believe that John Winchester knew just about everything concerning his sons . . . either that, or Michael left behind some sort of “command” after he de-possessed John that would make sure that Dean was the perfect soldier, the perfect hunter of all things that go bump in the night - the perfect Vessel. Like Mary Winchester said, Dean is her “Little angel.”
Oh!! Most importantly, we finally see the origination of Dean's pie obsession!!
Fourth: The whole Axis Mundi concept is brilliant. I also found the fact that Dean had such an intuitive grasp of Heaven very interesting . . . The implications of Dean's easy interpretation of "The Road" are straight forward: he’s always been connected to Heaven. I really think that Michael has had a much larger presence in Dean’s life than is first evident.
Fifth: So, this episode finally brought ALL of the Winchester issues to a head. After 5 seasons it was about damned time! Seriously, all that is and ever was an issue between Sam and Dean has now been brought to light. I don’t think this is the end of the Brothers Winchester, I think that now that all of their true opinions are out in the open that the “wound” can now purge and heal the right way - which could not happen with the patchwork stitchery that has been seeing them through until now.
That said, the final scene where Dean throws out the amulet Sam gave him. Wow. That just killed me. Poor, poor, Sam. And wasn’t that the most ironic moment of the whole show: Sam now has faith for the first time and Dean has just tossed his away.
Sixth: OMG. Wincest this episode was for you! Soul mates. What more do y’all want? They both inhabit the same corner of Heaven and thus they’re canon soul mates. Sheesh. If that line doesn’t spawn a load of fanfic then everyone should have their fan licenses revoked.
Seven: Pamela is an idiot in so many different ways I won’t go into it. . .
Okay, I lied.
What the fucking fuck! Telling Dean it’s okay if millions of people die. Apparently, Heaven either makes you a super genius or a total twit. Guess Pamela was an example of the latter.
Seventh: Return of Evil!Mary. Gotta love that Lady. . . and creepy Zach is creepy! His bright idea is to torture the guy who spent years in Hell into doing what he wants?? Ooookay. Guess that’s another one that Heaven made stupid. Though the actor totally knocked every scene out of the park. I loved him.
Eighth: Joshua is my new BFF. He just had the right tone and attitude for the character. I can see him as a great reflection of his Biblical character - a wizened warrior of Faith. Consequently, I really like how they handled God and wrapped up a TON of plot points! Let’s list!
- God resurrected Cas.
- God put Dean and Sam on the airplane and saved them from Lucifer.
- God forgave Sam and brought him to Heaven.
-- And the multiple Winchester visits to Heaven made a schizzle load of sense. Hmmm. Wonder if Dean and Cas met before Cas gripped Dean tight and raised him from Perdition. Oooooo. The fic possibilities!
- A bajillion more things that I can’t list because I’m sooooo excited about the next point!!!
Ninth: Cas’ final line, “I had Faith in . . .” can be interpreted in two ways.
- Cas has lost his faith in God.
- Cas, as his belief in God was being ripped apart realized that his Faith was never in God, but in Dean. He never named the person he had Faith in, and it’s easy to assume that he’s talking about God. But if you re-watch the scene, Cas stops in the middle of his sentence and turns to look at Dean before vanishing. I’m not saying it’s a likely interpretation, but it is nonetheless a bit valid and a great point to pick up a plot bunny especially when we recall the line, “I did it all for you.” If Cas was doing it all for God, that last pronoun would have been a bit different. Damn this episode was just full of plot bunnies.
Tenth: I really enjoyed this episode. It moved well, dealt with some really relevant plot points and tied up so many loose ends. What more could I ask for and what a breath of fresh air after that last dud. Finally, we're getting to the point!!