Supernatural: Unity (15x17)

It's weird, I would have bet good money on this being a Buckleming episode, given how crowded it felt. But no, we're saving those chuckle-fucks for the penultimate episode, which just bodes... really super great and awesome.

Cons:

Like I said, this shit was crowded. In the span of one episode, we learn what Jack's final task is, learn what his weapon is and how he's going to use it to kill Chuck and Amara, see him implement said plan, and then fail at it, the episode ending with him on the verge of death with no outlet. It all happened lightning-fast.

And on the flip-side of that? I'm really feeling the pressure, considering there are only three episodes left, and I'm starting to get mighty nervous that our friend Castiel might not survive next week's outing. The trouble is... why has this whole last run of episodes been about Dean resenting Jack? Like, is there not enough else going on? The plot twist in this episode is really actually quite good, and it appeased one of my biggest worries about a way they might end the show in a really dumb fashion. But it's replaced by other concerns, one of which being that the Jack conflict feels manufactured, and has been given center stage for the end of the whole show. Jack is great, but why is Jack the main character after fifteen years?

Supernatural: Drag Me Away (From You) (15x16)

 So like. Hmm. I... hmm. I don't really know.

Cons:

Honestly, I have no problem whatsoever with the fact that this is a "filler episode". I think people are forgetting that even in the best days of Supernatural, many of the episodes, even pushing right up against climactic finales, were your basic MOTW stories, woven in with themes and character development that had a bigger impact on the A-plot. So that's fine. No complaints in theory.

But... okay, so, young Sam and Dean have the story of Sam talking about going to college and Dean being like "no that's stupid" and then Dean not letting Sam go on hunts, and then at the end Dean softening a bit and saying "I don't know about college... but we make a good team." Sound... familiar? It's... the entire seasons-long subplot about Sam and Dean being at odds about the hunting lifestyle. Sam wanting to be "normal" while Dean wants to hunt and make his dad proud. Okay, I understand this was a huge theme of their childhood, but GUYS. We've got four episodes left after this. Is this a theme that's important to the end of the show? Are we still debating where Sam wants to be, what he wants to do with his life? I thought this had been settled. Ad nauseum. A lot of the flashback stuff with the Winchesters felt like a serious retreading of ground. Not only was this what the first season of the show was largely about, it's also been a significant element in almost every episode where we've seen younger Sam and Dean, in any capacity.

Supernatural: Gimme Shelter (15x15)

I saw a lot of people on the interweb complaining that this was a time-wasting episode, and since there's so little of the show left, it felt pretty pointless. I don't know if I'd totally agree, but I do admit to having some trepidation about how much plot we still have left to cover!

Cons:

We all thought, based on the promo, that Cas was going to finally tell Sam and Dean about his deal with the Empty. But no, it's actually about how Jack will die in the process of killing Chuck and Amara. Here's the thing: if this is actually the direction the show goes, it will be absolutely banana bonkers, and a terrible decision in every way. The show has set up a couple of interlocking themes in its latter seasons: 1) not all supernatural creatures are actually monsters, and 2) self-sacrifice for the sake of "destiny" is a terrible plan. Free will rules the day. So... if in the end it's like "screw you, Chuck, we have Free Will, but we are going to listen to his other cosmic entity (Billie) and sacrifice Jack for the greater good because she told us it was the only way", then they've just completely destroyed their whole freakin' message. I'm putting this in the "cons" section because I want to lodge an immediate complaint about that potential ending. If that's where they take this thing, they're freakin' idiots.

On a lesser note, I do want to say that splitting up Team Free Will 2.0 was a bit of a bummer. Yes, Jack and Cas' adventure was fun, I liked that Sam and Dean were essentially a subplot for once... but I want more interaction between the four of them. As this episode ends, Cas is immediately leaving again. I don't like that at all!

Supernatural: Last Holiday (15x14)

 We're back, baby!!

Cons:

The same problem I always have with Supernatural was definitely on display here, that of clunky exposition in C-plot episodes. I wish they could find a more organic way of catching us up with the main story points, instead of just having Sam awkwardly tick them off on his fingers: "oh, remember how Jack has his soul back, and we have to kill God?" It's like... yeah, Sam. Yeah, I do remember that, thank you.

I feel robbed that we didn't get to see Sam and Eileen's date, but honestly I'm delighted that she was mentioned.

Pros:

This was a standard, familiar, comfy C-plot Supernatural episode with a nice little focus on Jack and his relationships with the Winchesters. Nothing fancy, nothing groundbreaking, but just the kind of comfort food that you love to see as we get ready to say goodbye for good.

The Walking Dead: A Certain Doom (10x16)

 Guess who doesn't care? Me! I don't care!

Cons:

Trying not to be super jaded and negative here, but this episode just completely bored me. It seems like we're entering the final stage of this show, as it's been announced that after an extended season ten and season eleven, The Walking Dead will come to an end. But not really, because there are all these damn spin-offs now and I just don't care! I ain't a quitter, so I'll see this shit through to the end, but I will not be following these characters on to their future homes. I just don't have the patience for it.

While watching this episode I found myself zoning out and missing things, and just kind of generally lost in the miasma of the goal and how it was being accomplished. So Daryl, Carol, Lydia, et. al are trying to do away with the Whisperers once and for all, and it seems like they accomplished that? With several dramatic moments where we're supposed to fear for Lydia or for Gabriel or for Carol or whatever, and then in the end Beta dies kind of unceremoniously and we're just done with that whole threat? This show has a serious tension-management issue. They stretch out their villains until they've squeezed every ounce of threat from them, and then the actual ending of it all is quite anticlimactic.