Supernatural: Exodus (13x22)

I was so, so, excited for this episode, and then I saw Buckleming's dreaded names flash across the screen, and my stomach dropped. This wasn't a bad episode. It had tons of good moments and ideas and things in it. But... it wasn't what I was hoping it would be.

Cons:

Buckleming episodes are always so crowded, and dramatic, and there's always so much A-plot happening, but for whatever reason, the emotional moments don't hit me as hard as they should. For example, Sam and Dean reunite, and obviously Jensen and Jared do a phenomenal job with the acting, but the direction and the script show them sharing a hug, and then going about their business. The trauma that Sam suffered at Lucifer's hands is barely addressed by anything more than Jared's facial expressions. If I had written this episode, I would have had Dean staring after Sam the whole way, keeping close by his side, worried that he was going to lose him again. Dean should have been shattered by Sam's reappearance, giddy with relief. Instead, the moment was underplayed.

In exchange for downplaying the emotions with the Winchester boys, we got an annoying amount of focus on Lucifer's character development. It seems he really is sincere in wanting to get to know his son, and Jack, understandably curious about where he comes from, seems willing to give him a chance to explain himself. Here's where I have a problem: Cas, Gabriel, Sam, and Dean all try to tell Jack, at various points, that he shouldn't listen to Lucifer, that Lucifer is a bad guy, but Lucifer has good arguments as to why he's just misunderstood. Why doesn't anybody spell it out for Jack? I get the idea of him wanting to come to his own opinions, but honestly. Why is it that nobody looks at Jack, and says: "dude, your father murdered Castiel in cold blood. He tormented Sam in the cage and continues to abuse and manipulate him every chance he gets. He has tried to kill both Winchesters on numerous occasions. Maybe he's not responsible for every bad thing in the universe ever, but he is responsible for the direct pain and suffering of the Winchesters and Cas, three people we know you care about." Wouldn't that go a long way to helping Jack understand the severity of the situation?

It bothers me that Gabriel is dead, because last week they were setting up that he might be a good candidate for running Heaven. It would have been the perfect way to keep him around without needing him to be in the story all that much. He could have popped in occasionally. I get that we completed his little mini-arc about not running away anymore, and standing up to the bad guy, but come on. This was such a wasted opportunity.

Oh, and one other little logistical note - the big idea of this episode is that everybody is going to come back through to Sam and Dean's world, regroup, resupply, and then go back to apocalypse land to take out Michael once and for all. But as the episode ends, Michael and Lucifer are trapped in the apocalypse world and Gabe is dead... and at no point does anybody wonder how it is they're supposed to get back through. Do they just have extra archangel grace lying around that I don't know about? It bothered me that nobody pointed out this obvious flaw in the plan.

Pros:

While I had some big problems with some of the emotional beats, and while I'm not even a little bit interested in a Lucifer redemption arc, I will say that there were some concepts and moments in this episode that worked quite well for me.

To start with, the basic plot is that Mary doesn't want to abandon her friends in the apocalypse world, so she wants to stay behind. Sam has a better idea - why doesn't everybody come along, so all of them can be safe? All... twenty-five of them? This is an awesome idea, and I love the concept of having an actual mini-army going in to the finale. It adds a level of epic that this show usually can't pull off with so few characters. It also means we've got Bobby and Charlie back in the story, albeit alternate versions of them. We also have Ketch, and a number of other resistance fighters who we might get a chance to get to know moving forward. I sure hope so.

If that really is the end of Gabriel, at least I'm glad that he got a good final episode. His conversation with Lucifer was one of my favorite moments we've ever seen from Gabe. He calls Lucifer out on his crap, saying that his whole victim act is really just an excuse for all of his abhorrent behavior. As everybody else seems to be oddly accommodating of the devil in their midst, Gabriel is the one person who is completely not here for it. And then that ending, where he stands up to Michael to give Sam and Dean a chance to escape? Aw man. So tragic. It was like Crowley all over again, only Gabriel has a better chance of being a force for good in the world, so it's an even more tragic loss. I was surprisingly moved by Dean's grief, and of course the expression on Sam's face was hard to watch as well. I like that the two of them and Cas commiserate over his loss back in the bunker.

We see AU!Cas this week, and although it's just a brief moment, it's always fun to see Misha giving a campy, over-the-top performance with a weird accent. I love that our Cas says he prefers humans to angels, as that really highlights the significance of seeing this evil, torturous version of Cas. This is what Castiel would be if he hadn't ever met the Winchesters.

And speaking of Cas, he got a lot of great moments. I loved the beat where he walks over to Dean's backpack, which Dean is still wearing, and pulls out the cuffs to lock up Lucifer. He also has a great line, when Lucifer calls Jack his son, and he responds: "this is Kelly Kline's son." Just... damn. You tell him, Cas. Much like last week, Cas played a generally supporting role in events, but it's always nice to see him backing up the Winchesters and being a bad-ass.

The scene where Dean and Sam rescue Charlie and Ketch from evil Cas was a surprising highlight. I was actually quite moved by both reunions. First, you have Sam hugging Charlie, and then pulling away when he realizes that of course this woman has never met him before. But Charlie smiles, and seems to realize enough of the truth to be okay with what has just happened. She gives Sam a friendly punch on the arm. God, I've missed Charlie. I really hope we get the chance to know this new version of her. And then Dean and Ketch... it took me a long time to care about Ketch as a character, and he's still under a microscope with me, but I really liked the moment when Dean rescued him and helped him out of the room. Ketch seemed very pleased to see him, and even cracked a joke about how it was about time that Dean returned the favor and saved his life for once. We also got hints that Charlie and Ketch have a partnership and a bond, which could be fun to see.

I did like the little Sam and Dean reunion moment, even if I think there maybe should have been more to it. But actually, it followed with what the fandom had been speculating. They thought that Sam would try to apologize for bringing Lucifer, and that Dean would shut that down, just relieved to have him back alive. That is essentially what happened. We got a nice long hug, and Dean saying "I thought I lost you," and I'm pretty pleased, all things considered.

I mentioned above that I'm not interested in a redemption arc for Lucifer. I almost put in the "cons" section the fact that everybody seems so completely willing to just let Lucifer tag along, because it seems unrealistic. But the ending fixed that for me - Sam asks Dean to let him handle Lucifer, and Dean agrees. As everybody goes through the portal at the end, Sam pushes Lucifer back and traps him. It was a ruthless, brutal moment, and it was exactly what Sam deserved to have happen after all of the torture that Lucifer has put him through. Obviously next week is going to mess with that, but I love that Sammy outsmarted the devil and got his revenge.

The final scene was quite lovely, with everybody in the bunker celebrating their successful escape. Sam, Dean, and Cas mourn Gabe, Bobby makes a speech and Dean remarks that he's already taking over, Jack sits forlornly in the corner, confused over Lucifer's absence, and Sam and Rowena have a nice moment as well, where Sam congratulates and thanks her for helping them out by holding the portal open. Rowena declares that Sam owes her one now, and she'll be sure to collect.

So... next week is the finale. I'm not really sure how to feel about the shape of this season overall. I think there are a lot of good elements, and I'm definitely excited to see Lucifer and Michael 2.0 come over and start mucking things up. That promo sure looks intense. We'll see how it goes!

7.5/10