Supernatural: Jack in the Box (14x19)

I feel so bad for literally everyone in this situation.

Cons:

It's pretty stupid that Jack was able to destroy the box so easily. I mean, that thing was supposed to contain Michael in his true vessel. Are we supposed to believe that Jack, who is only half-angel, is more powerful than Michael? Or is it that Dean messed up somehow, and the box wouldn't have worked on Michael in the first place? I just felt like that was a really sloppy piece of writing.

And speaking of sloppy writing, who the hell were all of those people at Mary's wake? I thought the apocalypse world hunters all died in Michael's attack. If there were still a ton of other people around, then why did they even bother to do the big death scene? They could have kept people out of the way by just saying they'd all settled down elsewhere and were continuing to hunt. I'm forever going to be bitter about the way they handled that.

Bobby was in this episode for like two seconds. Maybe he's in the finale, but even so, it felt like a wasted cameo if nothing else. He shows up to tell the Winchesters that Jack needs to be killed. Not as revenge for Mary's death, exactly, but because he's too dangerous. This could have been any generic person giving that piece of exposition. I thought Mary and Bobby had a special connection, and that was totally wasted here.

Pros:

Jensen Ackles really knocked it out of the park this week. He's the master of the sad monologue, but the script did something very smart in that we got the monologue part, when Dean says some words about Mary at her wake, and then we get Dean's private grief, where he goes out into the woods and just cries. It wasn't overdone, and it was absolutely perfect in capturing Dean's despair. It also helps to give context to his decision about Jack. We know that Dean cared about Jack, but his rage and grief about Mary are of a different flavor than Sam's, and he's shut the door on Jack for good. He'd want to kill him, if he could, but he'll settle for trapping him. It's a bit cold, and I wish Dean could understand that Jack is a two-year-old super-angel with no soul and no context to handle what's happening to him... but Dean's grief and anger feel earned and true to his character.

Sam, on the other hand, is feeling way more conflicted. I like that he never suggests to Dean that they try and help Jack, because he knows that wouldn't go over well, and he's probably willing to admit that helping Jack isn't exactly likely to work. But he keeps trying to coax Dean out of his isolation by inviting him to talk about Mary, or by bringing up how he never thought things would go this way with Jack. He wants to talk to Dean, wants them to be connected in this moment, but there's an undeniable distance, and we can see how hard Sam is taking this, and how much he wants Dean to help him. The fact that Sam's prayers to Jack actually worked is really telling. I've always been under the impression that prayers had to be at least somewhat genuine and heartfelt in order to get through, which means that Sam, in a big way, still wishes he could save Jack, even if he knows he can't.

I love the direction they've taken Jack's character, where he knows that he wants to do good, but in an abstract sort of way where his moral compass is incredibly faulty. Making angels in order to strengthen Heaven seems like a logically good thing to do, much like easing the snake's suffering by killing it made sense to him. It's heartbreaking that he was willing to trust Sam and Dean and get inside the box, but it also tracks. He can't sense Sam and Dean's deception right away, because he doesn't realize the full ramifications of what he's done and how bad it really is.

Apparently Duma has locked Naomi up and has taken control of Heaven. I'll admit that I definitely didn't see that coming. Heaven needs strong leadership. They've really been through the wringer over the last ten years or so. I like that Duma sees Jack as a resource - the angels crave the power of God and the Archangels, but things have gotten so messed up that they've been without these higher beings for quite a long time now. Jack is easily manipulated, but still powerful enough to be deadly if mismanaged. In some ways I wish we could have seen more of Heaven's manipulations of Jack, but Cas wasn't about to let that happen.

Last week, we had Dean telling Cas that he's dead to him. I expressed at the time that I'd be annoyed if that didn't get addressed, and now I'm sort of having to eat my words. They didn't talk about it - nobody apologized or acknowledged the tension between Cas and Dean, but it was there. It was there in a big way and it informed so much of their moments together. Things are not okay between them right now, and it's impossible to miss. I like that when Cas realizes what Sam and Dean have done to Jack, he appeals directly to Sam to realize what a mistake this is. The three of them are all having an argument here, but Cas knows that Sam is going to be his best chance of an ally. This is one of the best examples we've had in a long time of showing the fundamental difference between Cas as an angel, and the Winchesters as human. He felt like he was operating on a different plane from them. Literally, obviously, he was in Heaven for a good part of the episode, but also emotionally, he was seeing things in a sort of big-picture way, and wasn't willing to give up on Jack the way Sam clearly had.

Also, I love any chance to see bad-ass Castiel, always willing to do whatever it takes to protect his family. When Duma leverages Mary and John's personal Heaven as a way of keeping Cas in line, Cas kills her. Instantly. It was intense, it was surprising, and it shows how scary Cas can be when he wants.

In some ways, this episode felt like setup, given that the season finale is next week. But I actually appreciated it even more for that. This season of Supernatural has had its share of problems, but it's managed to keep the A-plot really strong and actually moved it forward at a good clip, especially these last few weeks. I appreciate the pacing, and I'm nervous for next week!

8/10