Supernatural: Rock Never Dies (12x07)

Aw, man. I really, really wanted to like this episode. It had such promise. Our guys all together, fighting off Lucifer, some comedy with the '80's rock cliches... but what I got was kind of a snooze-fest. I just wasn't impressed with most of this episode.

Cons:

So, the story is that Lucifer returns from where he was banished to the ocean, and drinks in the glory of being adored as Vince Vicente. He makes one of his die-hard stalker fans cut herself to prove her devotion, and plans on hosting a reunion concert with his band so he can trap a bunch of people in a concert hall and kill them all. Crowley, Cas, Sam, and Dean all go to LA to try and head him off. They succeed in rescuing the crowd, but Lucifer flees Vince's breaking body and escapes their grasp.

A basic plot, which would be fine if I felt like it was going somewhere. The thesis of this episode, if you will, is that Lucifer has no plan. He's just chaotic evil, now. Wasn't that kind of Amara's thing? She just messed with the world because it was there to mess with? Sam contends that Lucifer not having a plan is scarier than Lucifer with a motive, but I just don't see it. He's simply not threatening. I never got the sense that any of our characters were in actual danger, here. With Mark Pelligrino, Misha Collins, or even Jared Padalecki playing Lucifer, I knew that shit could get very real very fast. But in this episode, Rick Springfield's Lucifer barely even dented Cas and Crowley. I mean, sure, Crowley got pretty bloodied up, but why didn't Lucifer just kill them all on the spot? Or at least kill Crowley and Cas, and maybe Dean? I could understand Lucifer's fascination with Sam stopping him from just snapping his fingers and having done with it, but that doesn't mean he has to be such a wimp!

And speaking of Rick Springfield... is that really all we're getting of his take on Lucifer? Looks like his vessel is pretty darn dead. What a waste. They could have done so much more to develop the idea of this vessel, and to have Lucifer explore the complexities of being in the public eye. That being said, though, I actually didn't really like Springfield's take on the character. When Jared played Lucifer, he played off of Pellegrino's body language, focusing on the austere, all-power aspects of this ancient mighty being. When Misha stepped into the role, he also imitated Pellegrino's mannerisms, this time with the insanity of captivity in the Cage turning him in to a much more insane and unpredictable type of villain. With Rick Springfield, I got the sense that he was playing Lucifer without any information about the character as he has been portrayed throughout the history of the show. He was just playing... an evil guy.

Then there's Cas and Crowley. I was really loving the idea of the two of them and their weird buddy cop thing, but this episode didn't do enough to capitalize on that. The brief moments that we did have were fine, but there wasn't enough. And Sam and Dean didn't really interact with the other two guys with any nuance or depth. Somebody who hadn't seen this show would have believed that Cas and Crowley were just two casual work acquaintances of the Winchesters. There was no real tension to the relationships, such that when Crowley volunteered to go with Cas and stall Lucifer, I didn't feel the emotional weight of that seeming sacrifice on Crowley's part. That was a bummer.

There was also this really insulting cultural commentary thing running throughout the episode. There's this PR manager who keeps talking about Buzzfeed and twitter and how the people of LA are all sheep. There's a yoga-doing, kale-smoothie-drinking talent agent who has been sending people to Crowley for years so he can make deals with them: their souls in exchange for a successful music or Hollywood career. Lucifer has this whole speech about how culturally, we've all become complacent and willing to blindly accept stale repeats. This is just so preachy. I wish media would stop trying to insist that art is dead, or whatever. The sheer volume of content out there means that more of it might be crap, but it also means that there's more to enjoy for everybody. I'll step off this soap box before I go on to far. Cultural elitism is a real pet peeve of mine.

Pros:

Okay. I know I had a lot of stuff to complain about, but there were things about this episode I quite enjoyed.

Dean has been playing Words with Friends with Mary, who has been kicking his ass. A small detail, but one I really appreciated. Something about these actors and their chemistry makes Mary's absence hold up okay. The excuse is flimsy on paper: she just needs some time to adjust, or whatever. But there's something very believable and sweet about Mary needing to be on her own, but not being able to cut ties all together. Moments like these are the perfect way to keep her woven into the story. If only they could do stuff like this with Cas' character a bit more consistently...

Speaking of Cas, he has by far the best comedic moment of the episode. Dean tells him he might want to change outfits, since his trench coat makes him stand out in LA. Cas, without missing a beat, says back "at least I don't look like a lumberjack." Perfect joke. I mean, how long as this fandom been discussing the Winchesters' ubiquitous flannel? Awesome. The joke actually carries through subtly, because Sam and Dean then spend the majority of this episode dressed in leather instead of their regular more grungy look. Those guys can rock some leather jackets, let me just say.

While I wasn't thrilled about Lucifer, I did like the unpredictable way he kept killing off people around him. There was this sense that you never knew when he was going to snap. He offs every member of his band, and kills Crowley's agent contact by making him stab himself through the neck. Yikes. Again, Lucifer would have been stronger if he'd felt threatening to our heroes in any way, but at least he was intimidating some of the time.

The special effects were great. That's not a compliment I give this show very often, but there you have it. The effects of Lucifer's vessel deteriorating, the desiccated remains of Vince Vicente... Even Crowley's bloodied face looked a little more convincing than some of the beat up faces this show has had in the past. All really good stuff!

Finally, I want to compliment the ending, where our four... heroes (I mean, I'm not sure you can really count Crowley as a hero, but whatever) contemplate their latest attempt to capture Lucifer. They've failed miserably in that regard, but Dean tries to see the silver lining, claiming a victory because they saved the crowd of concert goers. Sam isn't having it: he reminds them all that Lucifer is their responsibility. They let him out. (To be perfectly frank, I understand Sam blaming himself, and blaming Cas and Crowley... but Dean actually had nothing to do with this one, oddly enough!) In any case, this is following the pattern of last season. Sam is really starting to take responsibility for all of the crap they've unleashed on the world. Meanwhile, Dean wants to believe that they still do more good than bad in this world. It's an interesting idea. I wish we could have more development of it a little quicker, but I'm still really glad it's there.

There you have it. A disappointing episode for sure. But the nice thing is that these first seven episodes of the season have been pretty solid overall, at least as individual installments. The weakness comes in the confusing and conflicting A-plots. I mean, we haven't heard a peep from those British MOL in weeks now. Oh, well. Hopefully as we enter the middle third of the season, things will start to become a bit more cohesive.

6/10