Supernatural: Damaged Goods (14x11)

Ouch? That was... just... ouch.

Cons:

I don't care about Nick, and it bothers me that we spent so much time on him in this episode. The thing is, there could have been a version of this story that was clever or interesting, but they just didn't find it. I actually laughed out loud when Abraxis explained that he'd killed Nick's family in order to make him vulnerable for Lucifer. Like... yeah. Duh. Remember when we all briefly thought that Nick had killed his own family, and the darkness within him had drawn Lucifer to him? Well, that was a pretty predicable story. The only more predictable, more boring story I can think of is the one where Nick was just a random dude and Lucifer had his family killed to make him vulnerable. What was the surprise here? What was the point of drawing it out, and making it some mystery? What a waste of time.

Actually, more than a waste of time. Including Nick actually draws attention to a pretty significant plot hole. Unless I'm missing something. See, at the end of last season, our heroes had a weapon that was able to kill an Archangel. Dean (with Michael's aid) was able to kill Lucifer by stabbing him, and Nick survived. Why doesn't anybody suggest just repeating that process now? Killing Michael by stabbing Dean? If Nick could survive all of that, couldn't Dean?

Earlier in the season, I praised this show for finding a creative way to explain various characters' absences from the plot. But they need to put the work in. The bunker was empty this week. Couldn't we have a throw-away line about Cas and Jack on a hunt, and the other Apocalypse World folks on various assignments? It feels lazy not to include that.

Obviously that scene at the end with Sam and Dean was heartbreaking and amazing, but there was this one moment when Sam said "since when do we believe in fate?" and Dean says "since now." There was no further discussion of that very important plot point... Dean is the freakin' president of Team Free Will, so this is a pretty big switch, and maybe something that should have been given a bit more weight in the moment.

Pros:

The stuff with Nick took up way too much time, and that unfortunately worked to drag this episode down quite a bit. But there was so much to enjoy about the remainder of the episode that it actually counterbalances it pretty well.

First of all: Donna. I love her so much. I just want to watch her and Dean being best friends forever. They're the cutest. Also, she and Mary get to close the deal at the end and take down Nick, which was pretty fun. I always get a twinge of worry for recurring female characters on this show, but I think Donna is pretty untouchable at this point. If the writers know what's good for them.

I love Dean taking this little farewell tour, saying a secret goodbye to Donna and to Mary. Mary making Winchester Surprise, Dean's favorite meal from childhood, was just so heartwarming and depressing. Even though it's not stated outright, I'm going to infer that Dean didn't extend this farewell tour because he knew that Cas and Jack, maybe even Jody, would be able to see through him and try to stop him. He avoided Sam partially for that reason, which I'll talk more about in a minute. It's just so... Dean-like of him, to try to spare his family pain on his way out.

Despite feeling that Nick is a waste of time, I did like Sam's little speech at the end. I know Nick isn't Lucifer, but Sam did get to stare into the face of his abuser and tell him to burn. That was really satisfying. I also liked the bit in the car where Dean was pissed off at Sam for trying to help Nick, and Sam points out that he could have been Nick. He was Lucifer's vessel. He very nearly ended up in Nick's position, and he was showing some compassion. I think it's important for the show to reinforce the fact that Sam was possessed by Lucifer, and Sam spent countless years in the Cage with Lucifer. He's in a unique position to empathize with Nick... and with Dean, which is the elephant in the room during this conversation.

That ending scene. Just. Wow. Mary tells Dean that she knows what he's been up to, and that he has to tell Sam what's really going on. So Dean does. The only way to avoid Michael ending the world, at least according to Billie, is if Dean locks himself up in a box with Michael for all eternity. Sam is furious and upset that Dean would consider this, and even worse, that he planned on leaving without even telling Sam about it. Dean comes back with the devastating confession that he was afraid to be around Sam because Sam's the only person who could talk him out of it. Instead, he asks Sam to help him do this, and Sam says "alright."

A few things to highlight here: I loved, loved Jared's delivery of the line: "You were gonna leave, and you weren't even gonna tell me." It was the right mix of anger, devastation, disbelief. Gorgeous. Also, Dean admitting that Sam has the power to talk him out of this plan is so great. It goes back to so many moments we've seen in the past. Sam was ready to die to close the gates of Hell, but Dean convinced him not to. There's precedent for this in the other direction, too. Every time Sam has let Dean sacrifice himself to save Sam, save the world (I'm looking mostly at the end of Season Eleven here), Sam has been the brave one in letting Dean do it. If Sam had said no, Dean might have listened, and the world might not have been saved. That's just such a devastating way to frame these moments that we've seen over the years.

Also, Dean says "I love you" to Sam. It might not seem like much, but Dean doesn't just say that, and it was really powerful to have it slip out seemingly so easily, in this really high-pressure moment. And just. Sam. I love the moment early on when Dean gives Sam an awkward hug and calls him "Sammy" before heading out the door. It was as much of a goodbye as Dean would allow himself, but it was more than enough to tip Sam off that something was seriously wrong. I love that he follows Dean to the cabin. He doesn't know what's going on, but by now Sam Winchester has got to have a sixth sense about his brother's crazy bad ideas. Excellent.

One other note that I want to put in here: the reason that all of this is so devastating isn't because we think it's really going to happen. If Dean does end up on the bottom of the ocean in a box with Michael, we all know it's temporary. There's a greater than zero chance that when Supernatural ends, Sam and Dean are dead, but I would say there's no chance of them doing something this utterly devastating, and having the brothers separated, while one is stuck in eternal torment. That's how the show would have ended if it had ended after five seasons, and it would have been an appropriate way to tie up the character arcs at that point. But we've had nearly a decade since then, and that's simply not how the show is going to end, at this point. It's devastating to us because of the emotional underpinnings. Because Sam and Dean don't know they're on a TV show, and their fears and joys are real to them, and we love them. Supernatural is such a weird show, because the stakes never make any sense, the plot holes are constant, the stories go in every which way... but we love Sam and Dean Winchester, and that's enough to carry it all.

So, we've got one more episode and then the one after that is the 300th, where John Winchester will be making a reappearance. Get ready for me to be extremely angry with how that goes down... but for now, I'm pretty happy with all of the angst!

7.5/10