Supernatural: Unhuman Nature (14x07)

I kind of can't believe this was a Buckleming episode. Sure, it wasn't perfect, but I didn't have the problems with it that I usually have when those two pen an episode.

Cons:

Nick's subplot isn't the worst thing in the world, but the fact remains that I'm much less interested in him than I am in the main story. It would have been more interesting, albeit a bit obvious, if Nick had killed his own family, but now we see that he was manipulated by Lucifer into saying "yes," because demons possessed someone and slaughtered his wife and child. It looks like Lucifer's influence on him over time has poisoned his soul and made him evil? I don't know. If this is how Lucifer comes back, then it's a little lame, and it's happening too fast. I'm of two minds, because I don't want a ton of episodes about Nick, but I also don't like how the evil within him is apparently already taking hold. Kind of lame.

I love the stuff with Jack and Dean. I really do. But does it rub anyone else the wrong way that the focus is so much on their relationship? This is yet another example of how every non-Winchester character seems to form a closer bond with Dean than with Sam. Initially, Sam was the one who believed in Jack and wanted to help him. Why isn't he invited along on this father-son bonding trip? Or why don't we at least see a moment where Jack is being sentimental and thankful to Sam and Cas, too? Why just Dean? And for that matter, didn't Mary and Jack get really close when they spent all that time together in the other dimension? Did nobody think to give her a call?

Pros:

I could complain that Rowena's involvement here doesn't make a lot of sense, but honestly I don't care. It was just so fun to see her, and it was oddly touching that she rushed to the bunker, no questions asked, when she thought Dean needed her help. Her rapport with Sam is golden as always, and it was nice to see her trying so hard to help Jack out, once she saw what a sweet kid he was. (Although, was it a bit odd that she'd forgotten he was Lucifer's son? I mean, she definitely knew about that last season...) I expected the scene early on in the episode to be Rowena's only moment. She would try, she would fail, she would leave. But no - she sticks around and helps with the research, making phone calls to her contacts and then performing the spell that Cas finds from a shaman. It was really fun to see her being such a team player!

The main way it which this did not feel like a Buckleming episode is that it took its time to have slower character moments, instead of just blundering through large plot points at a frenetic pace. All of the stuff with Jack and his three dads was absolutely brilliant. I loved seeing them rush him to the hospital, their worry, their confusion. It's always interesting to see these guys interact with the "normal" world. The doctors are able to tell them that Jack's organs are all failing, but they don't understand how or why, and of course the Winchesters can't exactly tell these medical professionals that Jack is half angel. They are willing to try anything in the world, but they acknowledge pretty quickly that the hospital isn't going to be able to solve this particular problem.

Their first and best legitimate lead comes from Ketch, who directs them to a shaman. Of course I didn't expect it to be as easy as all that, but I was momentarily heartened when I saw that this shaman had some of Gabriel's grace. Obviously archangel grace is sorely needed in Jack's case, but Rowena's spell doesn't end up saving Jack. There's this heartbreaking moment where Jack smiles and says he feels better, and we see Rowena and the boys completely ecstatic. But then of course it all goes wrong, and Jack is even worse. Turns out, this shaman dude wasn't sure if it would work, but he wanted to "experiment" anyway. Cas is livid about this. It's always fun to see Cas go in to bad-ass angel mode, so I hope he gets to have revenge on this guy.

Of course, I loved the scenes with Jack and Dean. Jack gets to drive the impala, the two go fishing together, and Jack contemplates that life isn't about the big and flashy moments. It's about time spent together. Dean is a little gruff, a little uncomfortable with this degree of sentiment, but he is there for Jack, and he wants to help him enjoy life while he still can. I love the moment at the end where Dean doubts his decision to take Jack out, and Cas and Sam both reassure him that he made Jack happy, and did more for him than anyone else. If it had been Sam about to die, you know Dean wouldn't have been as sanguine in accepting it and trying to give him some good final memories. I think Dean didn't know exactly how much he loved Jack until after the two of them went fishing together, and Jack basically tells Dean that he thinks of him as a father. This is going to hurt.

The elephant in the room, of course, is that they're still going to need archangel grace to save Jack, and with Lucifer (probably, mostly) dead, and Gabriel dead, their only real option is Michael. Dean has a couple of moments where his vision goes blurry and things seem to be... weird, although of course, being a Winchester, he doesn't see fit to mention it to anyone. This probably means that Michael is still in Dean somehow, or that he has an easy way to get back in if he needs to. We've all been waiting for this shoe to drop, but even though it's not exactly surprising, it's still incredibly interesting. Maybe Dean has to let Michael take over again, in order to save Jack? We all know he'd do that in an instant, but the ultimate price is sure to be very high.

That's all I've got for now. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this episode, given the track record of the writers. While the Nick subplot is not going to be interesting to me for a while yet, I did really love all the material with Jack, and I'm getting seriously worried about the poor guy!

8/10