Supernatural: Wayward Sisters (13x10)

Yeah. Okay. I can definitely get on board with this.

Cons:

I wanted to be able to say that this episode totally blew me away and was the perfect start to Wayward Sisters, but I do need to be honest. I felt like there were some elements that could have been stronger.

To start with, we have Claire returning as the prodigal daughter here, but there were a lot of emotional beats that we had to squeeze in to this one episode. Her relationship with Jody, her relationship with Alex, a new friendship forming with Kaia and then losing that friendship, her fear of death, her decision to come home... it's a lot of stuff going on. The stuff with Kaia was good, but there wasn't quite enough of it. Claire has this big, heartbroken reaction to Kaia's death, but I maybe could have used one more scene of the two of them bonding so that the impact would hit. Don't get me wrong - the acting was good, but I needed just a smidge more.

Like I said, there just wasn't a lot of time to delve into all of the details here. Patience had to come to grips with the reality of fighting monsters, Kaia had to learn to trust these people, Jody had to trust Claire to look after herself, and we end with Claire calling these people her family. I mean, sure - Alex and Jody and even Donna definitely are. But she just met Patience. I know that the plan will be for these relationships to develop more when there's an actual show, but it's a hard sell to squeeze it all in to one episode.

It makes sense that Sam and Dean are barely in this episode, and I don't mind that at all. What I do mind is the thought that we really aren't going to see any more of that dinosaur land. I mean we saw a glimpse of a big huge monster, but really not much else. I'm hoping we'll have more opportunities to explore other worlds, but I'm just not sure. It feels like whenever Supernatural takes a big, world-changing chance, they end up pulling their punches.

Pros:

But let's focus on the stuff that I did like, which was a lot.

Claire and Kaia showing off their scars, holding hands, protecting each other... I mean, I definitely ship it. I was all geared up to be really, really pissed off about Kaia's death, but it appears that all is not what it seems. She's the cloaked figure that tied Sam and Dean up in the bad place. What does it mean?! This was a good twist, and an interesting jumping-off point for the spin-off show. (Please, please, please let it happen!)

Donna is an absolute delight. There are too many great moments with her to count, but I think my favorite might be when she asks Patience if she's ever shot a gun before, and when Patience says no, Donna replies "okie-doke," and hands her a firearm. Donna's all loaded up with weapons because she's from Minnesota. Absolutely fantastic.

In all, there were tons of great things that were planted for further exploration in a spin-off. Patience and Claire, Patience and Alex, Alex and Claire, Claire and Jody, Patience and Jody... all of the girls and Donna... I can't wait to see these different relationships grow and develop. This twist with Kaia is also really cool. Does this version of Kaia share anything with the other version? Like do they have the same memories? Are they the same person? Or is it just someone else wearing her face? Is Kaia going to stick around in the theoretical long-term plans of Wayward Sisters? I hope so!

The brief moments with Sam and Dean were pretty fun. I liked Dean eating the lizard, that was great. And when Claire and Kaia show up to save them, you've got Dean saying to Claire "my hero!" I like that when the girls found them, they really were in a helpless situation. They really did need someone to swoop in and rescue them. It was a good way to show that Claire is actually competent at her job.

I'm rooting for this show. This backdoor pilot wouldn't be enough, on its own, for me to devote myself as a new super-fan. But all of the stuff we've fought for, all of the petitioning... it's just so exciting to think that this show might become a reality. This is the kind of gift you can get when a show is as long-running as Supernatural is. There's just so much history and weight and so much time to build up all of these little characters and grow them in to something more than you could ever imagine they would be. Here's hoping we get to watch that growth continue!

8/10