First Impressions Review: 14x18, 14x19, 14x20
Yeah, believe it or not, I found out I never did review the last 3 eps of Season 14. Ooops! Sorry, but the completionist in me just couldn't let them go.
14x18 "Absence"
Castiel: I saw your mother's Heaven, and she is happy. She's with John, and there's no sorrow. There's no guilt. Just joy.
We find out Mary's dead due to Jack's little accident. The boys don't handle it well, especially Dean who's all ready to bring her back, any way possible. Meanwhile, Jack is trying to do the same thing, with Rowena's help. Dean's furious at Cas for not telling them that Jack was going down the wrong path and showing signs of losing his soul. Sadly, only Mary's body is resurrected and the boys mourn her loss yet again. :(
I still don't get why Jack would conjure up Nick/Lucifer, but not Nick/Lucifer to help him work out his problems? He hated both of them! But you could also argue that with him losing so much of his soul, maybe Jack's ability to use a friendly face as a "helper" or conscience was beyond his abilities anymore.
Gotta admit, I'm one of those that wasn't (and still isn't) happy with that ending shot of Mary's initials carved into the table next to Sam & Dean's. It just feels wrong. The boys marked that table with their names like they did in the Impala. It was their 2nd home. Mary didn't have those ties. And yeah, I get that she was a Winchester & their mother and they felt they wanted to leave her legacy as well, but as a fan it felt a bit like a slap in the face. After all the show has had 1 constant: Sam & Dean. It's their story, their struggles, their journey. Everyone else are just added in. Now I've always loved & supported Mary's return and she certainly got an amazing send-off here, but I still feel adding her initials was wrong for the show.
14x19 "Jack In The Box"
Dean: Sammy, we knew from the beginning it was a long shot with him.
Sam: Yeah. Yeah, but long shots are kind of our thing.
As Sam, Dean, Cas, & other hunters try to find Jack, Dumah decides to start using him to help restore Heaven to it's former greatness.
Ok, isn't it a little awkward to talk about Dean's feelings when he's right there in the room with them? Weird staging there. And why would a Wraith show up at Mary's Wake? There was no body after the boys gave it a Hunter's funeral pyre at the end of the previous episode. What would a Wraith be hoping to gain? Now if it had been a shapeshifter, a vampire, or a werewolf, I could understand. I mean, a gathering of hunters? Free lunch! :P
Dean putting on a brave face in front of everyone, including Sam & Cas & then crying out in the woods all alone is so classic Dean Winchester that it hurts.
So Dumah is wrapping poor naive Jack around her finger and using him to make Heaven great again...including making more angels. This is obviously a power move, since Dumah's been left in charge of Heaven since Naomi is in a cell due to allowing the Empty to escape. Ok, theory! Maybe Dumah is acting this way because the Keeper of the Empty possessed her? Maybe tainted her in some way? 'Cause she didn't act like this before. Not that we saw much of her to establish her character. It's just a thought!
Ok, another theory...Jack initially showed regret & even sorrow over accidentally killing Mary. Yet, in this episode, by the time he returns to the Bunker & talks to the Boys he's very matter-of-fact about the whole thing. But then he's also been using his power an awful lot over the past few days, so you've gotta believe he's losing more & more of his soul every time. Maybe at this point he can't even feel remorse over Mary?
I don't like how Dean forces Sam into helping with his plan to trap Jack in the Ma'lak Box. Sam definitely wants to try and help Jack, not kill him. Dean's just wanting to off the kid. Btw, I totally didn't believe the box would hold him. He's a nephilim not an archangel.
14x20 "Moriah"
Sam: He doesn't have a soul!
Dean: And whose fault is that?
Sam: Mine! I'm the one who brought him back, and I brought him back because he's family! And then he came back and he burned his soul off to save us! You and me! And now what? You... Now you -- you want my permission? You want me to say I'm cool with losing him and losing you all at once? 'Cause I can't do that. I won't say that, 'cause I... No. I've already lost too much.
Dean: No, we're done talking. 'Cause this -- this isn't just a story. It's our lives! So God or no God, You go to Hell.
Chuck: Fine! That's the way you want it? Story's over. Welcome to The End.
The Boys try to find Jack & Chuck shows up to...help.
I do love the scene with Dean being unable to lie! Priceless! Jensen's so great at comedy. :D
And OMG that scene between the boys where Dean is literally in the corner of his room & tries to convince Sam that he's the one who has to kill Jack. Of course, Sam is having none of that. Brilliantly acted by Jared with just enough emotion. Beautiful tears in his eyes as he tells Dean he's already lost too much.
Okay, I have a difficult time disliking Chuck. I adore Robbie and I liked Chuck from the start, so to have him suddenly go all darkside is a weird swing for me to swallow. Maybe he was hanging out with Amara too much and some of her Darkness rubbed off on him? Temper tantrum? Did the Keeper of the Empty get to Chuck, too? Yeah, I'm full of crazy theories because I just can't handle Chuck being the Big Bad. *sigh*
But why would Chuck want Dean to kill Jack and thus kill himself? Why break up the Winchesters? Who he's always helped and saved in the past? Is he trying to restore order to the Universe? Tired of the boys always choosing one another over the rest of humanity, even though they've always saved it in the process? 'Cause Chuck really wanted Dean to pull that trigger and when Sam called him out on enjoying everything he got upset. Chuck didn't even need Dean to kill Jack - he just killed him himself. And poor Jack waking up in the Empty! Wonder what Billie wants to talk to him about? Is Cas's deal with the Keeper still on? So many questions, but I'm totally excited about where the show is headed into it's final season!
14x18 "Absence"
Castiel: I saw your mother's Heaven, and she is happy. She's with John, and there's no sorrow. There's no guilt. Just joy.
We find out Mary's dead due to Jack's little accident. The boys don't handle it well, especially Dean who's all ready to bring her back, any way possible. Meanwhile, Jack is trying to do the same thing, with Rowena's help. Dean's furious at Cas for not telling them that Jack was going down the wrong path and showing signs of losing his soul. Sadly, only Mary's body is resurrected and the boys mourn her loss yet again. :(
I still don't get why Jack would conjure up Nick/Lucifer, but not Nick/Lucifer to help him work out his problems? He hated both of them! But you could also argue that with him losing so much of his soul, maybe Jack's ability to use a friendly face as a "helper" or conscience was beyond his abilities anymore.
Gotta admit, I'm one of those that wasn't (and still isn't) happy with that ending shot of Mary's initials carved into the table next to Sam & Dean's. It just feels wrong. The boys marked that table with their names like they did in the Impala. It was their 2nd home. Mary didn't have those ties. And yeah, I get that she was a Winchester & their mother and they felt they wanted to leave her legacy as well, but as a fan it felt a bit like a slap in the face. After all the show has had 1 constant: Sam & Dean. It's their story, their struggles, their journey. Everyone else are just added in. Now I've always loved & supported Mary's return and she certainly got an amazing send-off here, but I still feel adding her initials was wrong for the show.
14x19 "Jack In The Box"
Dean: Sammy, we knew from the beginning it was a long shot with him.
Sam: Yeah. Yeah, but long shots are kind of our thing.
As Sam, Dean, Cas, & other hunters try to find Jack, Dumah decides to start using him to help restore Heaven to it's former greatness.
Ok, isn't it a little awkward to talk about Dean's feelings when he's right there in the room with them? Weird staging there. And why would a Wraith show up at Mary's Wake? There was no body after the boys gave it a Hunter's funeral pyre at the end of the previous episode. What would a Wraith be hoping to gain? Now if it had been a shapeshifter, a vampire, or a werewolf, I could understand. I mean, a gathering of hunters? Free lunch! :P
Dean putting on a brave face in front of everyone, including Sam & Cas & then crying out in the woods all alone is so classic Dean Winchester that it hurts.
So Dumah is wrapping poor naive Jack around her finger and using him to make Heaven great again...including making more angels. This is obviously a power move, since Dumah's been left in charge of Heaven since Naomi is in a cell due to allowing the Empty to escape. Ok, theory! Maybe Dumah is acting this way because the Keeper of the Empty possessed her? Maybe tainted her in some way? 'Cause she didn't act like this before. Not that we saw much of her to establish her character. It's just a thought!
Ok, another theory...Jack initially showed regret & even sorrow over accidentally killing Mary. Yet, in this episode, by the time he returns to the Bunker & talks to the Boys he's very matter-of-fact about the whole thing. But then he's also been using his power an awful lot over the past few days, so you've gotta believe he's losing more & more of his soul every time. Maybe at this point he can't even feel remorse over Mary?
I don't like how Dean forces Sam into helping with his plan to trap Jack in the Ma'lak Box. Sam definitely wants to try and help Jack, not kill him. Dean's just wanting to off the kid. Btw, I totally didn't believe the box would hold him. He's a nephilim not an archangel.
14x20 "Moriah"
Sam: He doesn't have a soul!
Dean: And whose fault is that?
Sam: Mine! I'm the one who brought him back, and I brought him back because he's family! And then he came back and he burned his soul off to save us! You and me! And now what? You... Now you -- you want my permission? You want me to say I'm cool with losing him and losing you all at once? 'Cause I can't do that. I won't say that, 'cause I... No. I've already lost too much.
Dean: No, we're done talking. 'Cause this -- this isn't just a story. It's our lives! So God or no God, You go to Hell.
Chuck: Fine! That's the way you want it? Story's over. Welcome to The End.
The Boys try to find Jack & Chuck shows up to...help.
I do love the scene with Dean being unable to lie! Priceless! Jensen's so great at comedy. :D
And OMG that scene between the boys where Dean is literally in the corner of his room & tries to convince Sam that he's the one who has to kill Jack. Of course, Sam is having none of that. Brilliantly acted by Jared with just enough emotion. Beautiful tears in his eyes as he tells Dean he's already lost too much.
Okay, I have a difficult time disliking Chuck. I adore Robbie and I liked Chuck from the start, so to have him suddenly go all darkside is a weird swing for me to swallow. Maybe he was hanging out with Amara too much and some of her Darkness rubbed off on him? Temper tantrum? Did the Keeper of the Empty get to Chuck, too? Yeah, I'm full of crazy theories because I just can't handle Chuck being the Big Bad. *sigh*
But why would Chuck want Dean to kill Jack and thus kill himself? Why break up the Winchesters? Who he's always helped and saved in the past? Is he trying to restore order to the Universe? Tired of the boys always choosing one another over the rest of humanity, even though they've always saved it in the process? 'Cause Chuck really wanted Dean to pull that trigger and when Sam called him out on enjoying everything he got upset. Chuck didn't even need Dean to kill Jack - he just killed him himself. And poor Jack waking up in the Empty! Wonder what Billie wants to talk to him about? Is Cas's deal with the Keeper still on? So many questions, but I'm totally excited about where the show is headed into it's final season!