That was a damn good episode. Damn good. I'm very, very impressed by it. There were a number of different theories as to how this season would end, and this... this was one of them. One that I had considered pretty likely, in a way, but not in this way. I'm both surprised and very excited to see what comes next. I'm feeling less sad and more... exhilarated. I can't wait.
We start off with Cas and Sam restraining Dean, as he goes crazy and tries to kill Gadreel. They lock him up in the bunker and go off to find Gadreel, who vanishes after being attacked by Dean. They find Gadreel and Cas is able to heal him, even though it weakens him considerably to do so. Gadreel reveals that Metatron wants humanity to follow him as their new God.
We then see Metatron doing just that - Metatron is drawing power from the angel tablet, making him ultra powerful. He heals people and converts them to his side, soon growing a decent-sized cult of humans around him. Gadreel says that Dean, with the Mark of Cain and the First Blade, might be their best chance to stop Metatron. First, however, they'll need to destroy the angel tablet in order to make Metatron stoppable.
Dean summons Crowley to help him escape and track down Metatron. Crowley also helps Dean figure out what Metatron is up to. Sam catches up with Dean, furious at him for breaking out of the bunker and being such a jerk about everything. However, Sam admits that Dean is their best chance for stopping Metatron. Sam tells Dean that Gadreel and Cas are going to Heaven to break the angel tablet and give Dean his best shot. Dean tells Sam that he's going to go through with this and kill Metatron, no matter the cost, and Sam reluctantly agrees.
Gadreel and Cas manage to get up to Heaven by pretending that Cas is Gadreel's prisoner. It seems to work at first, but once they're in Heaven, the guards put them both in cells, not fooled by their tricks. Gadreel and Cas beg Metatron's angels to see what's really going on here. Finally, Gadreel sacrifices his own life to blow the cells open, allowing Cas to go free and continue the fight to save Heaven from Metatron.
Down on earth, Dean knocks Sam out, determined to face Metatron on his own. Even with the First Blade and the Mark, Dean is no match for Metatron when he has the angel tablet's power behind him. The two fight, but Dean is mortally wounded when Metatron stabs him with his blade. Sam, who had just regained consciousness and ran to help, watches as Dean is stabbed.
Cas finds the angel tablet hidden in Metatron's typewriter and smashes it, but it's too late. Dean is dying. Sam rushes forward and tries to kill Metatron himself, but Metatron disappears.
Metatron arrives up in Heaven and taunts Cas, saying that he knows Cas just destroyed the angel tablet to save Dean, and that all of this has been for one human - a human who is now dead. Cas is stricken at the news of Dean's death, but he still manages to trap Metatron into admitting that he's only using the other angels, and thinks of them as sheep. Unbeknownst to Metatron, Cas, was broadcasting his words on angel radio. The other angels come in and they lock Metatron up, Cas being unwilling to kill him.
Sam tries to get Dean some help, but Dean is too injured. After choking out the super depressing last words: "I'm proud of us," Dean dies in Sam's arms.
Sam brings him back to the bunker and, overwhelmed with grief, decides to summon Crowley to bring Dean back. Crowley, however, has no need of being summoned. He turns up in the bunker and gives a creepy little speech to Dean's corpse. Apparently, there's a part of Cain's story that we haven't heard yet: when he realized he was becoming a monster, he killed himself with the Blade, willing to die to avoid becoming something he doesn't want to be. However, the Mark of Cain kept a hold of him and refused to let him go. He awoke as a demon. Crowley, excited at the possibility, thinks the same thing has happened to Dean.
Sure enough, in the final few seconds, we see Dean's eyes open - pitch black.
Dun dun dunnnnnn this is so exciting you have no idea. This is such a good direction to take the show. It's opening up all sorts of avenues and possibilities. But let's start with any problems I may have had...
Okay, I'll admit that I wanted more Cas/Dean stuff. I'm obsessed, what can I say? Metatron tells Cas that Dean is dead, and yet Cas doesn't make any attempt to rush back to the bunker to see if he can use some of that all-too-limited angel juice to save him. He doesn't. He doesn't even call Sam to see if the younger Winchester is doing anything crazy in his grief. I hope that, just like between Seasons Eight and Nine, we jump straight off from this point in Season Ten and get more in the way of Cas' reaction to Dean's death.
Other weak-ish aspects include pacing during the first half of the episode. It wasn't a terrible problem or anything, but I noticed that things took a while to get going. We spent a bit too much time standing around talking about stuff rather than actually doing it. Once we got to Gadreel and Cas attempting to break into Heaven, and Sam finding Dean, things seriously picked up. And it's not like these beginning parts were bad or anything. Things just took awhile to warm up.
But for real. Let's talk about how awesome all of this is. How extremely exciting it's going to be, and how much Season Ten is going to kick ass because of it.
First of all, Metatron. Sir. You have become a legitimately scary threat again. Back when we first discovered that Metatron was a bad guy, he was nice and intimidating. Then he was out of the picture for quite some time, and in these past few episodes he's seemed... ineffectual, and a bit too campy for my taste. But in this episode? He was back. And really evil. Really fun to watch. Some of the creepiest things: his cult following. Not the angels, the humans. In that moment, we see humanity turning away from free will, just like the angels always seem to want to. It was disturbing. And a nice little indication of how bad things would have gotten if Metatron had actually succeeded in taking over.
He killed Dean. Dean. I mean, if that doesn't make a villain seem more threatening, then I don't know what will. The grossest thing? He goes up to Heaven to confront Castiel, and he pulls out his knife to kill him - a knife that's still dripping Dean's blood. Ouch. No. Not even a little bit of okay.
Other weak-ish aspects include pacing during the first half of the episode. It wasn't a terrible problem or anything, but I noticed that things took a while to get going. We spent a bit too much time standing around talking about stuff rather than actually doing it. Once we got to Gadreel and Cas attempting to break into Heaven, and Sam finding Dean, things seriously picked up. And it's not like these beginning parts were bad or anything. Things just took awhile to warm up.
But for real. Let's talk about how awesome all of this is. How extremely exciting it's going to be, and how much Season Ten is going to kick ass because of it.
First of all, Metatron. Sir. You have become a legitimately scary threat again. Back when we first discovered that Metatron was a bad guy, he was nice and intimidating. Then he was out of the picture for quite some time, and in these past few episodes he's seemed... ineffectual, and a bit too campy for my taste. But in this episode? He was back. And really evil. Really fun to watch. Some of the creepiest things: his cult following. Not the angels, the humans. In that moment, we see humanity turning away from free will, just like the angels always seem to want to. It was disturbing. And a nice little indication of how bad things would have gotten if Metatron had actually succeeded in taking over.
He killed Dean. Dean. I mean, if that doesn't make a villain seem more threatening, then I don't know what will. The grossest thing? He goes up to Heaven to confront Castiel, and he pulls out his knife to kill him - a knife that's still dripping Dean's blood. Ouch. No. Not even a little bit of okay.
And now let's talk about Gadreel. Gadreel seemed to fulfill the story arc that I think Cas was originally going to have, back when Misha was just going to be in a handful of episodes. Gadreel was a dedicated servant of what he thought was Heaven. Then he did some terrible, terrible things (i.e. lying to Dean about who he was, killing Kevin, etc.) But once he realized the truth, he tried to help Team Free Will defeat his former master. He dies heroically, helping Cas to escape and ultimately to catch Metatron. It was a really satisfying little arc that he got. I'm actually going to miss Gadreel, in the end. Even if I'll never forgive him for Kevin.
Then there's Cas. Cas, who uses a Star Wars reference to break into Heaven. Cas, who finds out that his best friend (and love of his life - ahem) has just died, and manages to trick Metatron, anyway. Cas, who tells Hannah he just wants to be an angel now. That last statement is what hurts the most. He really doesn't want to lead anymore, and he hasn't wanted that for a while. But this? Saying he just wants to be an angel is an indirect way of saying he wants to reject free will and go back to being what he was comfortable being. It's sort of subtext, but the fact that he says this shortly after he learns that Dean is dead seems very telling to me. He tried free will. He "did it - all of it - for" Dean Winchester. Canonically. He betrayed Heaven. He's done so many awful things. All because of Dean (and Sam, to a lesser extent). And now he just wants to be an angel again, to not have the burden and the responsibility of free will. Free will introduced him to Dean Winchester, and now Dean is gone.
Also we have to talk about what Metatron said to Cas. Textually. In the freakin' script, on the freakin' show. Metatron says. To Cas. That everything he's doing has been for Dean Winchester. That Cas is pretending he's doing it for the good of Heaven, but really it's all about Dean Winchester. Pair that with the earlier quote from last week "he's in love... with humanity" and I'd say we're about as close to canon Destiel as we can get without the two of them saying "I love you" and making out in the back of the Impala. I mean for real.
Also, let's not forget Metatron's other little hint to us, as he's typing on the typewriter and says he's telling a story of "love... and heartbreak... and love." If you think about that, and then think about what he says later to Cas about him doing everything for one human, it's hard not to connect those dots. I mean really. Gah.
Then there's the Sam and Dean stuff. I think what makes Dean's death so upsetting is that things are not okay between the Winchesters. There's a moment of almost-apology between them, where Sam tries to brush off all their recent fighting and move forward as a united front. And what happens next? Dean punches him out. The next time Sam sees his brother, he's watching Dean get stabbed. Nooo.
I loved how Dean asked Sam "what happened to you being okay with this?" And Sam saying "I lied." It's not just about their conversation in this episode (which was a nice mirror of the conversations leading up to the end of "Swan Song"). Sam's saying he lied earlier, when he told Dean he would let him die. In Dean's final moments, he knows that his death is really going to hurt his brother. He finally understands that. And what does he say, when he thinks it's the end? "I'm proud of us." I can't even imagine something more perfectly tragic for him to say. He didn't say "I'm proud of you." He said he was proud of the two of them together. Of their lives. Of all they've done. After all the doubt that Sam went through at the end of last season... about him letting down his brother... and now to have Dean say that to him as his final words... it's just so perfect. It reinforces them as a team. It absolves them of shame.
Sort of. What's wonderful about this death is that it doesn't feel resolved. Dean didn't die after defeating Metatron heroically. He didn't die fighting by Sam's side as they worked together to avert catastrophe. He died alone, stabbed by his still-living nemesis, with Sam running to find him, having just regained consciousness. In Dean's final moments, the writers and actors managed to convey the love between these brothers, but also the continued problems that they're facing. The slate isn't wiped clean. They're not okay. And now Dean is dead.
I'm going to end with a discussion of that last scene. So... Crowley. This whole season, I was wondering what the hell they were planning for Crowley. He was sorta-good, sorta-human, but still a demon, still culpable for a lot of really messed up crap. It would have been, frankly, a terrible story move for the show to try and fully redeem Crowley and make him a true friend and ally to the Winchesters. At the same time, all season we're seeing this evidence that Crowley really does truly care, in a sense, about Sam and Dean. And as the season progresses, Crowley's relationship with Dean in particular is getting a lot of attention.
Now, this is very telling. Of all the secondary characters, most of them have closer relationships with Dean (our protagonist) than Sam. But Crowley was always an exception to that rule. He's usually shown as having a closer relationship with Sam, our Myth Arc character. And now? Well, now Dean's the Myth Arc character. Dean's the one becoming the sort of thing he would hunt. In the past, this role has always fallen to Sam. All season long, they were building up this odd pseudo-friendship weirdness between Crowley and Dean. And instead of making Crowley kind-of-a-good-guy to justify this relationship, they're flipping it around. Crowley's not joining Dean. Dean is joining Crowley.
It's delicious. It's so freakin' exciting I cannot even handle it. Crowley's speech at the end was so creepy, but it made me so incredibly excited for what they have in store for us next season. Think of the possibilities. Jensen gets to sink his teeth into a complex new acting challenge. Dean and Cas' relationship. An angel and a demon. Dean and Sam's relationship. Dean and Crowley's relationship. How are they even going to do C-plot episodes next season?! I don't even know!
I'll leave it there instead of spewing more of my excitement every which way. This was a great finale. Very good performance by the actors, proper threat from Metatron once again, and an exciting new twist that will change things dramatically for Season Ten.
9.5/10
Then there's Cas. Cas, who uses a Star Wars reference to break into Heaven. Cas, who finds out that his best friend (and love of his life - ahem) has just died, and manages to trick Metatron, anyway. Cas, who tells Hannah he just wants to be an angel now. That last statement is what hurts the most. He really doesn't want to lead anymore, and he hasn't wanted that for a while. But this? Saying he just wants to be an angel is an indirect way of saying he wants to reject free will and go back to being what he was comfortable being. It's sort of subtext, but the fact that he says this shortly after he learns that Dean is dead seems very telling to me. He tried free will. He "did it - all of it - for" Dean Winchester. Canonically. He betrayed Heaven. He's done so many awful things. All because of Dean (and Sam, to a lesser extent). And now he just wants to be an angel again, to not have the burden and the responsibility of free will. Free will introduced him to Dean Winchester, and now Dean is gone.
Also we have to talk about what Metatron said to Cas. Textually. In the freakin' script, on the freakin' show. Metatron says. To Cas. That everything he's doing has been for Dean Winchester. That Cas is pretending he's doing it for the good of Heaven, but really it's all about Dean Winchester. Pair that with the earlier quote from last week "he's in love... with humanity" and I'd say we're about as close to canon Destiel as we can get without the two of them saying "I love you" and making out in the back of the Impala. I mean for real.
Also, let's not forget Metatron's other little hint to us, as he's typing on the typewriter and says he's telling a story of "love... and heartbreak... and love." If you think about that, and then think about what he says later to Cas about him doing everything for one human, it's hard not to connect those dots. I mean really. Gah.
Then there's the Sam and Dean stuff. I think what makes Dean's death so upsetting is that things are not okay between the Winchesters. There's a moment of almost-apology between them, where Sam tries to brush off all their recent fighting and move forward as a united front. And what happens next? Dean punches him out. The next time Sam sees his brother, he's watching Dean get stabbed. Nooo.
I loved how Dean asked Sam "what happened to you being okay with this?" And Sam saying "I lied." It's not just about their conversation in this episode (which was a nice mirror of the conversations leading up to the end of "Swan Song"). Sam's saying he lied earlier, when he told Dean he would let him die. In Dean's final moments, he knows that his death is really going to hurt his brother. He finally understands that. And what does he say, when he thinks it's the end? "I'm proud of us." I can't even imagine something more perfectly tragic for him to say. He didn't say "I'm proud of you." He said he was proud of the two of them together. Of their lives. Of all they've done. After all the doubt that Sam went through at the end of last season... about him letting down his brother... and now to have Dean say that to him as his final words... it's just so perfect. It reinforces them as a team. It absolves them of shame.
Sort of. What's wonderful about this death is that it doesn't feel resolved. Dean didn't die after defeating Metatron heroically. He didn't die fighting by Sam's side as they worked together to avert catastrophe. He died alone, stabbed by his still-living nemesis, with Sam running to find him, having just regained consciousness. In Dean's final moments, the writers and actors managed to convey the love between these brothers, but also the continued problems that they're facing. The slate isn't wiped clean. They're not okay. And now Dean is dead.
I'm going to end with a discussion of that last scene. So... Crowley. This whole season, I was wondering what the hell they were planning for Crowley. He was sorta-good, sorta-human, but still a demon, still culpable for a lot of really messed up crap. It would have been, frankly, a terrible story move for the show to try and fully redeem Crowley and make him a true friend and ally to the Winchesters. At the same time, all season we're seeing this evidence that Crowley really does truly care, in a sense, about Sam and Dean. And as the season progresses, Crowley's relationship with Dean in particular is getting a lot of attention.
Now, this is very telling. Of all the secondary characters, most of them have closer relationships with Dean (our protagonist) than Sam. But Crowley was always an exception to that rule. He's usually shown as having a closer relationship with Sam, our Myth Arc character. And now? Well, now Dean's the Myth Arc character. Dean's the one becoming the sort of thing he would hunt. In the past, this role has always fallen to Sam. All season long, they were building up this odd pseudo-friendship weirdness between Crowley and Dean. And instead of making Crowley kind-of-a-good-guy to justify this relationship, they're flipping it around. Crowley's not joining Dean. Dean is joining Crowley.
It's delicious. It's so freakin' exciting I cannot even handle it. Crowley's speech at the end was so creepy, but it made me so incredibly excited for what they have in store for us next season. Think of the possibilities. Jensen gets to sink his teeth into a complex new acting challenge. Dean and Cas' relationship. An angel and a demon. Dean and Sam's relationship. Dean and Crowley's relationship. How are they even going to do C-plot episodes next season?! I don't even know!
I'll leave it there instead of spewing more of my excitement every which way. This was a great finale. Very good performance by the actors, proper threat from Metatron once again, and an exciting new twist that will change things dramatically for Season Ten.
9.5/10
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