Supernatural: Funeralia (13x19)

This shit is compelling, you guys. I'm really happy with this episode.

Cons:

This wasn't a flawless, amazing episode though. The pieces were all compelling on their own, but when you look at the sum of its parts, I have to admit that this was quite an exposition-heavy, slightly clunky outing. There was just so much recapping that had to be done. We had to remember Jessica, the whole history with Billie, and Rowena, we had to remember Naomi, just... on and on and on. As a consequence, there were several moments where characters had to say things out loud to remind the audience, even though there's no real reason that the characters in-universe would need to rehash those details.

One of the recurring elements of Supernatural is that one of the Winchesters gets into some sort of trouble, and the other Winchester panics. I am NOT complaining about the brothers worrying for each other; that's basically my kryptonite. But sometimes the show uses these moments of panic as "cliffhangers" before commercial breaks and it always makes me roll my eyes. Sam gets taken by Rowena, and Dean runs out and then turns on Jessica, asking her in a panic: "where the hell is my brother?!" And then we cut to commercial break. Pu-lease. Nobody thinks Sam is actually dead or dying. We're not stupid.

Pros:

I love it when this show can find ways to make the establishing bunker scene a little more interesting than the standard rehash of the A-plot. This week, we see Cas with the boys, an all too rare sight, and we see them actually talking through strategies and debating different ideas. I loved Cas and Dean's conversation, where Cas said that he could go to the angels for help, and Dean was really unhappy with that idea, because of the risk to Cas. He basically gives him permission to go to the angels, but warns him not to get himself killed. There was such a sense of comfort and familiarity in this scene, as they talked about past and present plans and weighed the risks. Great stuff.

Cas' subplot in Heaven was actually delightful. We learn just how bad things have gotten for the angels - there's only a handful left. There are less than ten angels in Heaven, and the angels are what power the whole thing. If Heaven "dies," so to speak, all of the souls up there will fall back to earth. Oh shit. And who delivers this information to Cas? Why, it's Naomi! I mean, I hated her, she sucked, but back in Season Eight we did find out that Metatron was the puppet master for the angels being expelled from Heaven, so in this show's twisted logic, we probably need to give Naomi the benefit of the doubt. And I am all for a female character being un-killed. I love that Cas was furious with her, and specifically lists his grievances - she messed with his memory, and she made him play out Dean Winchester's murder again and again. That episode has gone down in Destiel history as one of the most important moments in the ship, so it was so amazing to see it referenced again, and see how livid Cas is to see the woman responsible for the psychological torment he went through.

I like raising the stakes in Heaven in this way. Gabriel may be Heaven's only hope of continued existence, which raises an interesting conundrum. What if Cas finds Gabriel, convinces him to help, but then has to choose between helping retrieve Mary and Jack, or helping Heaven restore some of its power? That's just brutal, and would be another great opportunity to see Cas put the Winchesters above Heaven. I am a sucker for that kind of thing.

Over in the main plot, we have some truly fascinating stuff going on with Rowena. She has all this extra power now, and she wants to use it to get Death's attention, so she can get her son back. There's a point of clarification here, when Sam and Dean incredulously ask her why she wants to save Crowley. It's Fergus she wants to save. I think there really is a difference between the two, as evidenced by Mark Sheppard's really rude answers to guests at Emerald City Comic-Con. Guy is kind of an asshole, actually. Sorry, that's a tangent. Point being, it doesn't make a lot of sense for Rowena to suddenly feel remorse for Crowley, but I like the idea of her feeling some remorse for Fergus, and I think if we're going for a long-term redemption arc for this character, this episode was an amazing starting point.

The stuff between Sam and Rowena is so deliciously fascinating, I can't even tell you. They had their moment of bonding over their shared Lucifer trauma, and now Sam finds out from Jessica the Reaper that Rowena is destined to die by his hand. There's a moment when Sam is facing down Rowena, and she is trying to escape, and he knows he should try to kill her. He looks devastated that it has come to this, but he does indeed pull the trigger. Of course, Rowena stops the bullet with her magic, and kidnaps him. But she looks truly hurt that he actually would have been willing to shoot her. Dean's part in all of this is equally fascinating to me. He doesn't totally get Sam's sympathy for Rowena at first, but he actually tries to be understanding, and he warns Sam gently that Rowena might be a lost cause. You can tell that the brothers are slightly irritable with one another over the Rowena situation, but Dean doesn't yell at Sam about it, and Sam doesn't spend the episode pouting. They remain a united front, which I quite enjoyed.

The scene with Sam, Dean, and Rowena sitting on the floor and drinking, discussing their sorrows, was just excellent in every way. It looks like even as they've lost Gabriel as an ally, they may have recruited Rowena to try and redeem some of her past wrongdoings. I love that Sam and Dean both tell Rowena she can be redeemed, and I love that I actually believe they mean it. Poor Sam has this horrible truth hanging over his head now, that he is the one who will kill Rowena, but I've never known a Winchester to blindly accept fate.

All around, this was just a great episode for the ladies. We had the return of Naomi, which I already talked about, we had a lot of great, meaty material with Rowena. And we had Billie! I loved the scene between Rowena and Billie. We saw the kinder side of Death, and we also saw these two absurdly powerful women having a conversation about the future, with Sam lying on the floor staring up at them, almost as an afterthought. In that moment, I really thought about the fact that either one of those women could have killed him with a snap of her finger. I know Sam Winchester is a tough cookie, but I enjoy the idea that really Sam and Dean are only alive because people far more important than either of them have decided to let them keep breathing. Finally, you have Jessica, who was a lot of fun. Her slightly sarcastic tone, her fake innocence as she watches Dean get beat up but can't interfere... that was all great. I loved how she kept appearing and startling them - it reminded me of Cas back in the earlier seasons. Jessica was a great one-off joke in the episode where Dean kills himself to talk to the ghosts, and I was happy to see her get an expanded role here!

So... yeah. This episode was setup, and given that there are just four episodes left of the season, I understand the need to get some pieces arranged on the chessboard. But honestly, even if there were moments where the exposition was a little heavy, I really enjoyed this installment. Rowena fascinates me. It took me a while to get there, but now I really admire her character!

8/10