Um, well . . . so that happened.
When I was watching the āclimacticā events transpire in āLet the Good Times Roll,ā I could only think of one thing:
āDestiny can’t be changed, Dean. All roads lead to the same destination.ā
Yep, those are the infamous words uttered by Castiel to Dean in season fourās,
āIn the Beginning.ā The Winchesters have spent their entire existence battling this one phrase, believing that they can escape destiny and let free will reign. Theyāve defied odds, saved the world multiple times over, and gone through agonizing tragedy and extreme personal loss, but they did it all for free will. Well, as soon as Dean made his deal with Michael, it turns out Castiel was f***ing right all along. I was left with the feeling that it all really didnāt matter in the end.
I know, thatās probably too cynical a statement. After all, life is about the journeys, not the final destinations, right? What are the Winchesters without their horrific experiences, extreme physical pain, multiple deaths, and all their loved ones dying bloody? They have each other, right? Theyāre stronger, right? While Iād like to believe that, Iām angry that I never got to see Sam, Dean, and Castiel in those matching Hawaiian shirts, drinking beer on that beach with sand in-between their toes. I never got to see Sam experience the joy of Luciferās death for more than a few seconds. Bottom line, free will really sucks.
All Roads Led to This??
I watched āExodusā and āLet the Good Times Rollā back-to-back a day after the finale. I wasnāt remotely excited to watch it live, and I put it off to watch RuPaulās Drag Race on those Thursdays instead. Lucifer was right about that show, we need continuous non-stop episodes every week. Anyway, I consumed both these hours of Supernatural with low expectations and skepticism. Was I pleasantly surprised? Not one bit. As with most other episodes this season, they both were clunky paint-by-number affairs that lacked any flare, proper pacing, or real emotional impact. Even the production value was lacking, making me wonder if they ran short on budget this season. Either that or the people behind the scenes stopped giving a crap.
āLet the Good Times Rollā was especially disappointing since it felt like an average episode instead of a finale, and a mediocre one at that. How in the world did we go from Bobbyās inspiring, āWe will take back our worldā speech to his loyal followers at the end of āExodus,ā to him and Mary walking in the park talking about how everyone has learned to love the comforts of this new world and donāt want to go back? Wait, what? Granted, the glacial pacing and the āAs the AU World Turnsā drama of āExodusā felt like they were desperately trying to kill time rather than tell a fluid story, but didnāt Dabb actually read the script before shooting his? Or is this one of those āsoft landingsā again that he loves so much? You know, the ones that usually piss off fans wanting something exciting (still bitter about āAlpha and Omegaā).
I canāt be too hard on Dabb though. I wanted to throw āExodusā out the window too. What a freaking mess. I wonāt harp on it too much (ha, catch the angelic reference there?), but again I donāt get the point of why Gabriel was even brought back. So he could explode Colonel Sanders and then die again? So he could give a speech to Lucifer and then get himself killed . . . again? By another brother this time? Why do Gabrielās brothers want him dead? I get that this is a dysfunctional family, but it just doesnāt make any sense. Heās actually fun at parties. Although, Gabe did disappear into the woods for a while, so this could be another trick and heās not really dead. Heck, he could be liberating the AU world as we speak. It wouldnāt be any crazier than his first ādeath.ā
There were a few bits I liked in both episodes though. Dean and Samās private hug in āExodusā did stir something inside, as did Jack and Samās scenes in the finale, even if they happened during a totally contrived situation to shoehorn Dean into an inevitable situation. Itās just hard to enjoy such bits when theyāre sandwiched between such illogical madness.
This leads to the biggest problem Iāve had with Andrew Dabbās scripts over the last few seasons. They are slow in the beginning, rushed in the end, and donāt take enough time to build into an emotionally powerful story. Itās just a set of events that happen. Case in point, remember last seasonās āFirst Bloodā? Instead of taking to time show Sam and Deanās descent into madness while being incarcerated, justifying their desperate decision with Billie (and laughable escape from a maximum-security facility), it just happened through a quick montage that we were to believe happened over a space of time. Thatās not emotional storytelling! Something got missed in the translation.
Then thereās last seasonās āRed Meat.ā Itās a script that Dabb finished for Robert Berens and man did it show. It was a riveting, dramatic, action-packed story three quarters of the way through. Then it all fell apart in the endāthe part that Dabb had finished. He threw out a sorely needed emotional brotherly scene after that ordeal, not to mention Samās miraculous healing in a mere few hours from a debilitating gunshot wound. It gets really hard after a while to hand wave the sloppiness in the plotting and the missed emotional opportunities. The framework is there, but the entertainment value gets lost in the delivery.
āLet the Good Times Rollā had these issues. There was a mechanical logic to what happened. Previous lore detailed that only Michael was destined kill Lucifer. Weāve been told since season five that it could only be done with the āMichael Sword,ā aka DeanāMichaelās one true vessel. Just take this dialogue from season fiveās
āThe Song Remain the Sameā:
Sam: They all say we’ll say āyes.ā
Dean: I know. It’s getting annoying.
Sam: What if they’re right?
Dean: Theyāre not.
Sam: I mean, why, why would we, either of us? But . . . I’ve been weak before.
Dean: Sam.
Sam: Michael got Dad to say āyes.ā
Dean: That was different. Anna was about to kill Mom.
Sam: And if you could save Mom . . . what would you say?
It doesnāt take a genius to figure out that if Mary or Sam were in danger, Dean would go there. In this case, it was Sam and Jack in peril and, strangely, Michael just happened to be there at just the right time. Thatās the beauty for a writer when falling back on the āall roadsā Castiel prophecy. It means youāre going to get there somehow, someway. If it means a Michael from an alternate universe crosses dimensions and shows up at exactly the right time, so be it. We have a winner, despite its plausibility.
I get it though, Dean tends to make reckless decisions when it comes to saving Sam. If he had a chance to do a well-thought-out decision, he might not have made this choice. Or he would have tried to find another way. Without Sam there to give his input, there wasnāt another option presented in the heat of the moment. So, it wasnāt totally out of character. It was also completely predictable too. If you donāt believe me, well, repeat after me: āAll roads lead to the same destination.ā
There was also no scenario that made sense in the lore that Sam could kill Lucifer short of being possessed by said Devil and driving an archangel blade through his own heart. Iām actually happy he at least got to play an important part by throwing Dean!Michael the archangel blade. It still ended up being a mild victory, but you canāt fault it not following canon.
However, there were some slip-ups, and this is where the inconsistencies interfere with episode enjoyment. Remember how the first apocalypse was averted thanks to Sam because the entire planet was in danger? How the big Michael and Lucifer showdown would nuke half the planet? We FINALLY get the showdown, thirteen seasons in the making, and instead of destroying the earth with brute force, Dean!Michael and Lucifer fly around like theyāre in a high school production of āPeter Pan.ā Lucifer dies rather quickly and Michael walks around town afterward in a new suit. Thatās one f***ng disappointing wait.
Whatās bothering me most though is the execution. Michaelās attack at the gas station and then banging viciously on the bunker door served no purpose other than to show that Michael was a hot-headed dick. Why was Michael like that? It didnāt follow any previous canon. Michael picking up Dean by the neck and strangling him in the bunker lacked the grandeur of his entrance at the Campbell house in the aforementioned āThe Song Remains the Same.ā In that episode, Michaelās confidence in his true destiny gave his character swagger, multiple layers, and intrigue, and he was only in one scene! He was meant to be feared though, as shown with his wrath against Anna, which was swift but calm. This S13 AU Michael was just an ass, a trait that seems to be in every character these days. This wasnāt the angel that was stepping up, ready to face his destiny with both grace and wrath. Now, he is far less relatable to the audience and thatās the poor characterization thatās been derailing these stories.
No one is trying to put any finesse into storytelling, let alone attention to continuity. Theyāre just going through the motions, jumping from one part to the next without any sort of fluidity, tone, emotional impact, or logic. Remember when Sam decided to say āyesā to Lucifer in season five? They deliberated over that plan for an episode, weaving the agonizing decision into an action-packed story in āTwo Minutes to Midnight.ā Then there was that opening scene in āSwan Songā where the brothers had the very touching conversation on the Impala with Dean reluctantly giving his blessing. The foreboding and turmoil in everyoneās faces and body language as they went through the plan twisted my gut into knots and left me emotionally devastated for weeks after Sam fell into the cage.
In the S13 finale, Dean quickly says āyesā to a supposedly weakened Michael, who acknowledges that he knows Dean is his one true vessel. Say what? How did Michael know that especially when Dean didnāt exist in the other world? If that was the case, why did Michael want him dead? All of this was crammed into the end part of the episode. We didnāt even get to see Sam struggle with what happened for more than a second. Iām not saying Deanās decision should have played out like Samās in āSwan Song,ā but it came across as a cheap shock value stunt rather than a gut-wrenching moment that left an impact.
It wasnāt just the writing that fell short though. Iām not sure what happened with the direction, but something went very wrong there. There was no build-up of dramatic tension, the ending was rushed and choppy, and we got none of those iconic āless is moreā moments where the actors are allowed to sell the story just with pained expression. We got a cheesy fight sequence on high wires that has always been so beneath this show. Then we got a freeze frame at the end? Seriously? I wonder if Robert Singer was channeling his āThe French Mistakeā counterpart.
Kevin: Or we could have them fly at the window, then freeze frame. Then cut to black, act out.
Bob: Freeze frame.
Kevin: Um . . .Yeah. Freeze frame.
Serge: Serviceable.
Bob: Fine. Whatever. Season six. Moving on.
I see him right now, looking at the dailies with a deadline looming and going, āWhatever. Season thirteen. Moving on.ā
The editing as well continues to take the wind out of any hint of an emotional story. Take Sam and Jack facing their āSophieās Choiceā with Lucifer, and Deanās decision to let Michael in. Why were they wildly bouncing back and forth between those scenes? Both scenes were not of equal caliber in the matter of importance department. Sam and Jackās scene was part of this story, but Deanās dilemma was an epic event that was thirteen seasons in the making! Sam and Jackās moment was touching, but it should have played out uninterrupted on its own, before moving onto to the Dean, Michael, and Castiel scene. Slowing down the story to let the actors sell these critical moments is what Supernatural has always done best, yet for some unforgivable reason they chose not to go there. They havenāt been lately. Iāve said it in reviews before, itās short attention span theater, not tension building. The wild cutting back and forth during both dramatic moments was too distracting and took me away from the story when I should have been engrossed in it. I instead started yelling, āSquirrel!ā
This is all why Iāve hit my breaking point with Supernatural in season 13.
The Red-Headed Monster
I want to tell you what Iām having the hardest time with after watching this episode. I cannot believe that loyal fans out there, even a few long-time ones, were calling this one of the BEST . . . FINALES . . . EVER. What??? You canāt be serious. It is not even in the top tier. How can any episode that basically phoned it in for the first half hour, completely forgot the ending of the week before and then gave us one of the silliest, campiest fight scenes ever in this series, then gave us a quick āshockā ending be āthe best.ā This was up there with āBugsā in terms of low budget cheesiness.
āCarry On, Wayward Sonā is supposed to be the teaser that gets us excited about what is to come, not the best f***ing part of the whole episode. I do give āLet the Good Times Rollā credit for delivering one of the best āCarry Onā sequences ever, but thatās the only part of this episode I will ever watch again. Something is seriously wrong here.
I used to cherish season enders. They were must see events. Nothing is more perfect than āSwan Song,ā but I can understand if youāre not a fan. It was a rather traumatizing ending. How about then āNo Rest for the Wickedā? I white-knuckled it the entire hour and then saw my heart shattered into a million pieces after that ending. How about āAll Hell Breaks Loose Part IIā? Deanās speech over Samās dead body still has me crying buckets. If youāre not a fan of the earlier seasons, then how about the masterful āSacrificeā at the end of season eight? You canāt deny how spectacular those scenes between Sam and Crowley were, and that ending! After watching āLet the Good Times Roll,ā I went āmehā and went back to doing my laundry.
Heck, I even thought the reveal at the end of season nineās, āDo You Believe in Miracles?ā when Deanās eyes opened black was more shocking. But we all know how that went come season ten. Three episodes of Demon Dean. Thatās exactly what I fear with Dean!Michael come season 14. Maybe thatās why I donāt share the excitement. Iāve been burned too badly before. Iām also not sure I relate to this fandom anymore, who will enjoy just about anything if the boys are in it. Anything? I . . . just . . . canāt! It has to be good too! Life is too short for bad TV.
Just for grins, since Iāve raised the subject, and we probably could use a distracting exercise during this long summer āhellatus,ā here is my list of all Supernatural season finales from best to worst. Feel free to share yours in the comments.
- Swan Song
- No Rest for the Wicked
- All Hell Breaks Loose Part II
- Devilās Trap
- Sacrifice
- Lucifer Rising
- The Man Who Knew Too Much
- Do You Believe in Miracles?
- Brotherās Keeper
- All Along the Watchtower
- Survival of the Fittest
- Let the Good Times Roll
- Alpha and Omega
Stray Thoughts
Iāll tell you what I did love. Lucifer is FINALLY dead. Thank freaking Chuck. He overstayed his welcome by four seasons. The more they tried to work Lucifer into this story, the worse it got. The horrible inconsistencies in the canon and his behavior, turning this once menacing and chilling foe into a cartoonish scene chewer, grew more irritating with each appearance. I couldnāt stand his histrionics in this episode. Or the last. Or the one before . . . Please, please, for the love of all humanity, do not bring him back, ever.
So, um, we get a do-over with Bobby and Charlie, huh? Are they going to kill them again, like they just did with Gabriel? I see what will probably happen here. Everyone will learn Michael is in this earth, and theyāll all mobilize for their chance to take him out rather than fight the war in their earth. Glad they all got to enjoy some happiness before that happened. They certainly got more than Sam did.
Can we get enough of Samsel in Distress? To think that this was the season where it happened the least. Had to get that in the end, didnāt you, Mr. Dabb?
Does Castiel have a purpose anymore? Once again, he wasnāt given much to do. Seriously, he only has one potential story left at this rate. He gets to stick around to say, āRemember when I told you about that āall roadsā thing. HA!! I was right. Suck it.ā I implore, please bring someone in that takes a real interest in angel lore and give Castiel a spinoff. Hear that, Ben Edlund? We need you!!
Overall grade, oh, I keep waffling between a C- and D+. Iām rather disappointed; this was a big failure in more than the writing department. Perhaps everyone just needs a long break. Iām definitely one of those people.
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