Supernatural: Game Night (14x17)

Well, shit.

Cons:

Let's start with a small thing - the special effect for Lucifer isn't really doing it for me. I guess I appreciate that they're making a unique choice, but to me, that black morass of evil with the glowing red eyes is not Lucifer. It's not the Lucifer that we've come to know as a villain over the years in this show. I actually don't have that big of a problem with bringing him back into the show. Since we know Season Fifteen is the end of the road for Supernatural, the only appropriate end-game villain is Lucifer. But the way they're visualizing his return doesn't match for me the energy and essence of who the character is.

I really like it when a Winchester gets hurt and the other one is all worried and scared, obviously. But I do have to lodge a complaint about how contrived the fights in this show can be sometimes. Sam and Dean have been hit in the head so many times it's insane, and usually they're banged up enough to make them disoriented in a fight, but there does not appear to be any lasting effects. Now, because the plot needs Sam and Dean to be out for the count while Jack deals with Nick, suddenly Sam has a head injury and he's actually dying. I wish they could find a way to be a bit less obvious about it!

Pros:

Let's start with Cas' subplot. He and Anael are on the hunt for a way to contact God. Cas wants to talk to God to help Jack get his soul back, but ultimately they're unsuccessful. In terms of plot development, this little side-adventure doesn't add much of anything. Cas has an idea, but it goes nowhere. However, I actually really loved what they did here. Cas genuinely wants to help Jack, yes, but there's also the fact that he's in denial, and I think Anael picked up on the truth brilliantly. Cas knows deep down that Jack is walking around without a soul, but he doesn't want to admit how badly things are going. It makes sense. Everyone is tense, and nobody wants bad news. We all know how much Cas dreads disappointing the Winchesters.

Anael is a somewhat underutilized character, but I think Danneel Ackles does a great job with the material she's given. Specifically, she seems to understand how to play jaded, without being predictably pessimistic. She took her disenchantment with God and Heaven and turned it in to a spark of hope and helpfulness. Sure, she's a bit of a nihilist, but she'll use the power she has to help people when she can. And if she wants some material reward for that, then... well... so would I. I like exploring a character who has more than the average number of flaws, but who doesn't tip over into "anti-hero" territory either. Also, I like that Anael tries to deflect Cas' cheesiness about how we're not really alone, but Cas just sincerely confirms that they still have each other. The kinship between the angels has always fascinated me, so it was fun to see a bit of that explored here.

Then we've got the main plot. It's simple enough - Nick is on a mission to reunite with Lucifer, so he goes after Donatello to lure the Winchesters. It's all part of a plan to get some of Jack's blood, which is needed for his ritual. Along the way, we see that Jack is acting strangely, Sam is boiling with rage over Nick's behavior, Mary is being a mom to everyone, and Dean is just trying to hold it together. In the end, Nick gets the drop on Sam and badly injures him, and he also manages to summon Lucifer. Jack and Mary show up in time to stop Nick, but Jack goes way too far, using his powers to kill Nick horrifically. Jack is able to save Sam, but when Mary tries to talk to Jack about his behavior, Jack freaks out and loses control of his powers, ending the episode on something of a cliffhanger... did Jack just kill Mary?!

So, there's lots to unpack here. When the episode started and Mary was trying to be helpful to Jack, and then later had a nice chat with Dean, I got a little worried about her fate. Then, later, Mary also had a moment where she told Sam how proud of him she was, and I started to get really worried. I know we're not 100% certain that Mary is dead, but obviously Jack did something to her, and I'm actually really impressed with the dark turn the story is taking in this regard. We needed to see something to show that Jack has lost sight of himself. When Sam was soulless, things really hit rock bottom for us, the viewers, when Sam let Dean get bitten by a vampire when he could have intervened. Here, we see Jack doing plenty of immoral things, but we're not going to be completely convinced that he's lost his soul until he hurts someone who's completely innocent. That's not Nick, and that's not a snake, or his friend that he hurt on accident. But hurting Mary? Lashing out at her after everything they've been through? That's a pretty clear sign of how bad things have gotten.

I'm not convinced this show has ever quite known what to do with Mary Winchester, but if this is indeed the end for her character, it was a good way to go out. Obviously tragic, and unfair, but after struggling to adjust to her life back on earth, she spent her final hours being nothing but warm and encouraging and loving to her family, including Jack. Yikes, I'm really nervous about the fallout from this... as I think I should be...

So, Nick. Lucifer. As I said above, I actually don't have a big problem with Lucifer coming back. I think it's fascinating to see the parallel between Cas seeking God, and Nick seeking Lucifer, in this moment. God doesn't come through, at least not in an immediate, concrete way. Lucifer does. Lucifer appears directly. But that doesn't mean that he cares more for his followers. It means he's more selfish, more insidious. I'm excited to see what they do with Lucifer in the final season of this show, now that we know the end is arriving. But I'll be super upset if anyone other than Mark Pellegrino plays Lucifer at the end. The biggest "oh, shit" moment of the episode for me is when Nick asks to see Jack, and he calls him "my son." I genuinely got chills. We get all these little hints that Nick is so connected to Lucifer that the boundaries between them are hazy, and it's an incredibly compelling way to bring back Lucifer. Obviously a show like this ends up repeating itself a lot, but this is a cool and unique way to address a villain's impending return.

Sam's anger at Nick is so fascinating to me. Part of it feels like displaced rage for Lucifer, as would make sense. Nick is the face of Lucifer to Sam, so trauma is obviously playing a big role here. But I think it's a little bit more than that. Nick is a parallel to Sam himself. Both of them are vessels of Lucifer. Both of them have experienced the undivided attention of the Devil, and Sam sees in Nick the failure that he very well might have become. I love the way Jared is playing Sam's anger here, barely repressed, barely contained, but just a bit irrational. Sam knows it, but that doesn't mean he can stop it.

Oh man, Sam lying there with his head bleeding, trying to say goodbye to Dean... I don't care how many times they do scenes like this, it's always going to just gut me. Dean is trying to keep a positive spin on things, but you can just see that he's unraveling. The way his voice cracks when he's telling his mom that it's really bad, and the way he shushes Sam when Sam tries to say something to him... I think the best moment was when Jack heals Sam, and Dean just stands up and turns away to collect himself, overcome with relief, finally allowing himself to feel the full impact of what almost happened. I love me some angst.

I think I'll stop there for now. Just a few more episodes left of this season. You know, it hasn't fully sunk in for me that Season Fifteen will be the end, but I think it'll hit me the moment "Carry On Wayward Son" starts playing, and I realize that we'll only get one more finale after this...

9/10