Supernatural: Byzantium (14x08)

Oh boy. Cas... you're such a Winchester, man.

Cons:

There were some moments, especially early on in the episode, where the pacing and the framing of events felt off. It's a bit hard to describe, but the best example I have is when Sam leaves the bunker, and Dean and Cas rush after him and find him sitting on the ground, leaning against the impala. Dean rushes out and demands to know if Sam made a deal, but Sam says no, he was just trying to build a pyre. These few minutes of screen-time hit a bunch of emotional beats right in a row, and it's pretty confusing. Sam leaves the bunker looking determined and distraught. Dean is frantic with worry that Sam may have made a deal. Sam is crushed that he couldn't even build a pyre for Jack. But why? We see him struggling to fell a tree, and then he just gives up? The whole sequence of shots gave me whiplash, and it felt like a poor way of setting up a really important fact, that being that Sam and Dean are not willing to repeat old mistakes to save Jack, no matter how much they might miss him.

Is Heaven really just people being stuck in old happy memories, a timeless loop where they don't even realize they're dead? I know we've seen and heard versions of this before, but it doesn't feel like an appropriate reward for our heroes. If Sam and Dean die at the end of this show, and go to Heaven, that will feel very strange to me, given the setup we've seen.

Dean calls Mary and leaves a voicemail to tell her the bad news that Jack has died, and apparently this is the first time any of them tried to call her and let her know what was going on. I get that everything happened quickly, but shouldn't someone have at least called Mary while they were waiting by Jack's deathbed? They didn't know how long he had. They might have given Mary a chance to rush back and say goodbye. And what about all the hunters from Apocalypse World? I thought they were all one big happy family, Jack included. Where were they for this episode? This was the first time all season that I felt their absence from the story proper was not adequately explained.

Pros:

Everyone's reactions to Jack dying were so heartbreaking. We get so many moments affirming how much Team Free Will care for Jack. They all affirm that he is their son, which warms my heart. Dean is angry and yet after Jack is gone, he's practical. Cas is trying to be emotionally supportive while drowning in his own sorrows, and Sam despairs, and then goes into denial, trying to find a way to fix things. Even though I thought the pacing was off, I did like seeing Sam break down, and then go straight into fix-it mode. That feels very true to his character.

The drinking scene between the three guys was great. We never see things like that. They get wasted, talk about Jack, laugh at good memories, toast to their fallen friend and son. We honestly need more moments like this in the show, where we see these people just spending time with each other, existing in each other's lives. Cas really feels like he belongs in the bunker, with his family. We get a scene at the end, when Jack has been resurrected, where the four of them have dinner and toast to Jack's health. It's a nice parallel, showing the family, now whole once more, when before they were missing their newest member.

I'll admit I didn't remember Lily Sunder at first, but ultimately I think it was a really cool idea to bring her back. She just wants to be reunited with her daughter in Heaven, but after all the harm she's done, the balance of her deeds is not in her favor. In the end, though, she does something incredibly selfless to help Jack, and this pushes her over the edge. What a nice resolution to her character. It was fun to bring someone back and give them a proper redemption like this.

Speaking of parents reuniting with their children, how sweet was it to see Kelly and Jack get to spend time together at last? I loved all the love and hugs going around. Jack and Kelly embrace, and when Cas shows up, he embraces them both, so thrilled to see them. It was enormously sweet. Kelly is such a kind, good soul, and it's nice to know that she's been at peace.

I like the idea that the Empty and Heaven would both feel they had a claim on Jack. He's half human, half angel, after all. The Empty is an interesting concept that has actually held up pretty well since it was first introduced. The idea of nothingness isn't really frightening if you're asleep for eternity, but we know from Cas, and now Lucifer, that things don't always go as planned.

Oh, Cas. I know I'm not the only one to think immediately about Buffy the Vampire Slayer when I heard the Empty's threat to Cas. Cas agrees to give himself up to the Empty if Jack is free to return to life. The Empty says that they won't take Cas right away - they will wait until he lets himself be perfectly happy, and then swoop in and take him away. This is just like Angel losing his soul if he experiences true happiness! Like, this is what that is! Totally! I've long since stopped pretending, even to myself, that Destiel is going to happen for real, but this scenario is just ripe for the fandom's taking. If Cas is truly happy, he instantly dies? Please. The angst is unreal. Even more interesting, Jack knows what Cas did for him, but Sam and Dean don't. Jack will agree to keep that promise, but I'm betting things are going to get pretty intense once the truth comes out. I am emotional.

Next week is the mid-season finale, which usually means something very intense. In this case, Michael's return. I love that Cas is still around in the story. I don't know if he's in more episodes this season overall, but he's been in six of the first eight, and his presence has definitely been felt more. I'm scared for Dean of course, and I hope they get closer to their goal of stopping Michael!

8/10