Supernatural: War of the Worlds (13x07)

Soooo... this episode was sort of a mess, but it was a mess made out of pieces that I mostly enjoyed. I'm kind of reeling from all the different stuff they threw at the wall in this one. Most of it stuck, but we're left with a collage that has little to no cohesion. Okay, enough of that belabored metaphor. Let's jump in.

Cons:

In the alternate world, we see Michael has kidnapped Lucifer, and is hoping to use his grace for a spell that will open a portal to the original realm. Kevin Tran shows up to help make this happen, and the spell actually works. Problem? Lucifer manages to break through the portal and it closes up before Michael or anyone else can use it. My issues with this plot thread are many - too much happened too quickly. Lucifer is back too soon to our realm. Where the heck is Mary? Kevin wasn't acting like our Kevin at all, which makes sense because he's a different person with different life experiences, but it really rubbed me the wrong way that he said Michael was going to take him to paradise to meet hot girls. Like... are you for serious, Kevin?

Ketch is back because apparently he had a fail-safe inside of him that resurrects him if he dies. Rowena put it there. Okay, great. But this plot thread involved Ketch trying to convince the Winchesters that he was actually Arthur Ketch's twin brother, Alexander Ketch. I was annoyed because either way it's stupid - either there's actually a secret twin, or Ketch is just pulling some crap, and he's magically alive because the actor still wanted to be on the show. And it ended up being option two. I thought it was stupid to kill off Ketch last season, so in some ways I'm glad we get a chance to see more of him. But on the other hand, this could not have gone down in a more stupid way.

Pros:

But remember how I said that even though this episode is a mess, I liked a lot of the disparate pieces of that mess? Take, for example, Ketch being back. It may make no sense, but it does lead to delightful moments where Sam is awkwardly trusting of this newcomer and Dean is just not having it. And then Ketch actually shows up and saves the day against a group of witches, which means Dean recognizes him as the Ketch they know - his fighting style gives him away. It's important to remember that Dean is a strategic genius, and this story with Ketch gave us an opportunity to see that.

And then there's Lucifer's hasty return back to the story proper. Is it rushed? Yes. But it leads to so much awesomeness that how could I mind? He shows up in time to save Cas from some angels who want to use him to get to Jack, and the two old enemies spend the episode bickering mercilessly. Basically, Lucifer is worried about what will happen if AU!Michael makes his way into this world. He'll destroy everything. But with Jack's help, maybe they can stop the worst from happening. Cas was in fine form with the sass this week, and of course Lucifer is a delight as always. I loved the fact that Lucifer really does seem like he loves his son. He asks Cas questions about Jack, eagerly wanting to know if he's powerful and, more importantly, if he's okay.

Asmodeus reappears to continue his reign as the new Crowley. I think I've mentioned in past reviews that his character is pretty shrug-worthy. Here, for the first time, I became interested in him. The actor is doing a great job with this character, and the second he stood up to Lucifer and declined to give up the throne to Hell, I became quite interested. I like the idea of Jack being a pawn to all of these different powerful entities - the angels want him, Asmodeus wants him... and then you've got Team Free Will and Lucifer, who are on opposite sides, but actually care about Jack as a person.

We learn in this episode that Jack, as the son of an archangel, has the power to create more angels. Or, at the very least, he might have this power. This is important because apparently the angels have started to go extinct. We're getting towards the uncomfortable part of almost every season of Supernatural where the show struggles to explain what this season will be about - is it about Jack? About the alternate universe? About Lucifer, Asmodeus, Ketch, dying angels? Like I said, this episode was quite a clusterf**k. But, I actually find this idea to be very fascinating. What does the extinction of the angels mean to Castiel, someone who has been ousted from their ranks?

I should end on an obligatory note about Dean and Cas. Dean is worried about Cas going off on his own, and it's extra adorable. The End. Oh but also I think it's funny that Dean tells Cas to stay out of trouble and Cas manages to get himself in a ton of trouble in two seconds flat. Completely in character, obviously.

I feel as if this review might be a tad disjointed, but then can you blame me? The episode is as well. That doesn't mean I hated it, but I do hope that in coming weeks we can smooth out some of the rough spots and shed some light on a few of the convoluted pieces that this episode introduces.

7/10