Supernatural: The Future (12x19)

This episode was honestly such a gift? I'm very surprised by how much I liked it, honestly. Let's dive in!

Cons:

I won't go in to the plot that much, but one of the important elements here is that Cas steals the Colt from Dean. The Colt, since it returned this season, has been built up a lot, and so seeing Dagon just destroy it like it was nothing? Kind of a letdown on a major scale. I'm happy that Dagon was too bad ass to be taken down by a gun, but considering the fact that she got killed just a few moments later, it seems strange to have the Colt suddenly be gone. I wanted more out of it, after such buildup.

We get a semi-decent explanation of why Cas has been AWOL over the past few episodes, but it still feels a bit contrived. I understand the idea they're going for, but honestly? Cas could pick up the phone. He could send a text. He could make up some crap to keep the Winchesters off his back. His conflicting ideas about what to do, and how to get a win for him and his friends all make perfect sense. But would he really act that way in the face of these doubts?

Kelly has become a devout follower of the infant inside of her, which I think is a great concept and one I totally didn't see coming. However, I think this would work even better if we had some idea of who Kelly was as a person. If we had gotten to know her at all as a complex human being before the whole demon baby thing, all of the material with her would hit closer to home. As it is, I keep asking myself - what does POTUS think happened to his lover? The minute I remember Kelly was the President's girlfriend, it becomes a lot harder to take her seriously. Supernatural may have flown too close to the sun on that one.

Pros:

Supernatural often begins its episodes with really clunky exposition scenes, where Sam and Dean talk about what their main problem is, and how they've done research but are unable to solve the problem. This week, we got a very refreshing scene of Sam doing research, and then actually coming up with an idea, which he shares with Dean. What if they take the angel-magic out of the unborn Nephilim, thus turning Kelly's baby into a human, and saving both its life and hers? It's nice to see that research does occasionally lead to answers in the A-plot. We don't see that all that often.

Also, like I said, Kelly's whole situation is very interesting. She tries to kill herself at the beginning of this episode (which, by the way, trigger warning, guys...) but it doesn't work, because her unborn child brings her back. This fetus seems to be talking to her, in a strange way. Telling her to trust in Cas, and telling her that it can be a force for good in this world. This wasn't a twist I was expecting with Kelly. I figured she'd love her baby just... because she's a woman who's pregnant on a TV show. But instead, she ends up becoming this strange uber-fan. It makes her this strange religious figure in a way she hadn't been before. I'm intrigued to see where her character ends up, which hadn't been the case until now.

Cas. Oh man, I have so much to say. First of all, I love the dilemma he faces in this episode. As he tells Dean, and later Kelly, he's so tired of failing everybody. He just wants to be able to spare his friends from danger and impossible decisions, also while getting Heaven's approval. Any time he stumbles, he despairs. Here, we see him make the heartbreaking decision to kill Kelly in order to spare the Winchesters from having to make that choice. But in the end, he can't follow through, making him feel like even more of a failure, even if we can see he's doing the right thing morally.

Then, there's the stuff with Dean. Okay, look. I know Destiel is a pipe dream at this point, but in that case: what the hell were the writers of this episode thinking? I couldn't believe how much romantic tension I was sensing from these two in this episode. Dean is pissed when Cas turns up, and harps on him about ignoring his calls. Sam is just happy to see his friend, while Dean looks like a jilted lover. He later tells Cas that he was worried about him, and that's why he's so angry. Oh, also? Cannot stress this little detail enough: Dean made Cas a mix-tape. I'm sorry. What? And Cas, in a timid moment of apology, goes to give Dean the mix-tape back, like they're breaking up or something. And Dean says "it was a gift. You keep those." Like, what? What? What?!?! We see Dean and Cas behave increasingly like lovers in the middle of a fight. Dean pushes Cas up against a wall angrily, Cas snipes at him about the impala being locked... the whole thing is just one big lover's spat, and... damn. I was swimming in good Destiel material in this episode. More so than we've had in a very long time.

Then there's that ending. Dagon shows up in time to kill Joshua, who makes an insultingly brief reappearance, and then she easily disposes of Dean, Sam, and Cas. She goes forward to get Kelly back, but Kelly grabs Cas' hand, and seems to imbue him with the power of her unborn baby. Cas immediately powers up, and kills Dagon. He seems all weird and possessed, though. He tells Sam and Dean that Kelly's baby needs to be born with its full powers. Then he knocks them both out by touching them on the forehead, and leaves with Kelly.

Okay, what the heck is going on?! I'm so interested in this right now! I mean I still have no idea what's going to happen when that baby is born. I still have no idea what we're going to do with the whole British MOL plot, which wasn't so much as mentioned this week. I'm still confused and a little distrustful. But this episode by itself? Damn! I'm so interested! I want more Cas. This is what I didn't fully realize I had been missing until I got it back. Onward to next week, with high spirits!

8.5/10