In the sixteenth and final episode of the third season of Supernatural, Dean’s time of reckoning arrives. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Supernatural.
I’m a mess. This review is gonna be a mess. Just know that.
Trigger Warning: There’s nothing particularly heavy here, but I always prefer being safe. So! Talk of blood/gore, death/grief, and of misogynist slurs below!
I have thoughts that are all over the place because, as I said on Twitter right after I watched this, I recognize how dense “No Rest for the Wicked” is, and I do want to do it justice while talking about it. So I’ll be splitting this up based on the various subjects/points of interest so that I can sort this out without my post being too chaotic. Let’s start with my only gripe about this finale:
The Language
I’m a dude and I am absolutely going to stay far away from ever telling folks how they should and should not feel about gendered slurs for (what should be) obvious reasons. So, don’t expect me to wade into the comments to argue with anyone about how they feel about this because that could so easily become a gross disaster of power imbalances. I more or less just wanted to bring this up because this episode features perhaps the most egregious use of numerous misogynist slurs ever, all aimed at Ruby. I get that it’s part of Dean’s vocabulary, and again, I’m a dude and I have zero percent say in any of this. There was just so much of it, and then I got confused by all the sexual slurs? Like, that doesn’t even make sense at all. Why are you calling her a “skank” at all? What about her behavior is sexual? (Not that that would condone Dean saying that to her, of course.) If anything, it was just distracting to hear these words over and over and over again. i dunno WHAT DO YOU THINK, I’M STEPPING DOWN AND NOT SAYING ANYTHING MORE BECAUSE IT’S NOT MY PLACE.
Bobby Singer is a saint
I just love that Bobby often acts as if the Winchesters are his own children that he is perpetually disappointed with because they are ALWAYS FOOLS. I mean, it’s also true that Bobby loves Dean and Sam, and I think to ignore that context would be criminal. LITERALLY ILLEGAL. Seriously, though, I often wonder why the boys don’t utilize Bobby more, though this season has featured him more than ever. He’s funny, he’s extremely caring about the world around him, and he’s frequently able to offer another perspective that the boys don’t have. More Bobby? Yes, please. After this season introduced us to his heartbreaking backstory, I definitely need to know MORE ABOUT BOBBY.
Ruby
If the “death” of the human body that Ruby inhabited means that Katie Cassidy is off Supernatural, I’ll be sad. This episode – sort of like Nicki Aycox’s final appearance in season two – reveals just how fucking incredible Cassidy is as an actress. Which… damn. That’s the third character that has shown endless potential in this show who is unfortunately killed off. Henriksen, Meg, and now possibly Ruby! Well, that’s not confirmed; Lilith said she sent Ruby away, and all we see is the human she was in dead at the end. I wouldn’t be comfortable saying that Ruby is dead.
Regardless, Cassidy was a wonder in this episode, able to convey Ruby’s frustration and then act like an entirely different demon minutes later. In addition to this, the writers have consistently been clever enough to never truly tell us whether or not Ruby is being truthful to Sam. It’s obviously a source of conflict between the Winchesters, and I am SO INVESTED IN KNOWING WHETHER SHE WAS RIGHT. I can’t tell! And the worst part is that we know because of the show’s worldbuilding that demons lie. Ruby admits it to Sam, too, using this as a reason for why she manipulated him up to this point. IT’S IN HER NATURE.
So what does that mean for her loyalty? If I take things at face value, it really feels like Ruby is telling the truth. Lilith actually sent her away, so that supports the idea that Lilith hates Ruby. She was also VERY MUCH TELLING THE TRUTH about Sam’s “powers,” whatever those are, and the evidence is in that final scene when Lilith’s blast DOES NOTHING AT ALL TO SAM. Which… fuck, I’ll talk about that later, BUT OH MY GOD.
I really hope this isn’t the last of Ruby, y’all, because I’m so endlessly fascinating with her as a character.
Who Can Kill a Child?
I feel like when I recommended said film earlier this season, most of you must have thought OH MY GOD HE HAS NO IDEA WHAT’S IN STORE FOR HIM. Because this episode takes the trope of creepy children and does one of the most unbearably frightening things I’ve ever seen: LILITH’S VACATION. So, am I wrong to assume that Lilith loves possessing children? Because that seems to be her thing. So does INFLICTING ENDLESS HORROR ON OTHER PEOPLE. What happens here reminds me of that old Twilight Zone episode about the kid with that power that I’m going to ambiguously refer to because I can’t quite remember the details. But Lilith toys with the Fremont family by exploiting their love for their daughter and toying with their own sense of self-preservation. We meet them mid-nightmare after the grandfather secretly passes a note to his neighbor with a simple message: HELP US. The man’s wife is already dead, as is a sitter and the family pet. And really, it’s clear to me that Lilith thrives on holding power over others, which is why she’s so upset when she can’t do this to Sam.
Regardless, it’s so awful to watch because we’re presented with yet another eventuality: Is Sam or Dean going to have to kill a little girl? If it’ll save Dean, if it will save the world, is it worth it? And I honestly thought Sam was going to refuse to do it, but there’s that split second where he almost did.
Good gods, y’all. A WHOLE IDYLLIC NEIGHBORHOOD FULL OF DEMONS. I mean, just in terms of playing with the idea of the perfect white American Dream… this whole part of the episode was RIDICULOUS and genuinely terrifying.
Winchester Angst
This episode goes beyond angst, though, and it’s where Kripke takes these characters that left me numb and speechless at the end of “No Rest for the Wicked.” Despite that I sensed that this wouldn’t be a positive ending, I never expected to see something so bloody, so resolutely final, and so completely grim. Over the course of this episode, though, we also have to watch Sam refuse to let go until the final moments, when he’s forced to accept that he cannot save Dean. Really, I think Dean spent most of this episode trying to ease Sam into this reality. It’s one of the reasons why he didn’t want Sam to make any sort of deal to stop Lilith. He wanted Sam to be able to live on without him and free of him. Without obligation or condition.
But perhaps some of his behavior in this episode was due to his experience as he got closer to the veil of Hell. Ruby brings up Sam’s fear of being seen as a freak by his brother, but Dean is the one who begins to have special “powers,” and he hates it. He hates the idea of becoming less than human, and he doesn’t ever want Sam to be that person again. This is also wrapped up in his belief that demons can never actually help humankind, and the whole thing is a mess of ideologies and and fear, and I admit it’s hard to watch. God, I’m just thinking about how different this episode would feel on a second watch, given that the ending casts the whole thing in such a terrible light. That scene where Dean and Sam sing “Wanted Dead or Alive”? pure evil 10000000% EVIL THERE ARE FEW THINGS MORE CRUEL THAN THIS.
Few. There is one thing, and it’s the betrayal and terror in the end of this episode. I’m still in shock, and I can’t believe how far Kripke just pushed Supernatural. Ruby is gone, Lilith has gotten her revenge, and DEAN WAS TORN TO PIECES IN FRONT OF SAM AND SENT TO HELL. Which, for the record, REALLY DOES LOOK LIKE HELLRAISER. AND OKAY SO LIKE… I’m devastated by this ending, but can we discuss the visual choices for Hell??? It’s not a pit of fire; it’s a sprawling, unknowable expanse of suffering, a web of chains of torment and imprisonment. And there’s Dean. By himself. Screaming out for Sam. WHO IS HOLDING DEAN’S LIFELESS BODY AT THAT VERY MOMENT.
It happened. Dean is in Hell. DEAN IS IN HELL, SOUND EVERY ALARM. HOW? HOW ARE THEY GOING TO DEAL WITH THIS??? Like… how does Dean GET OUT OF HELL? Will he still be human, or is Demon!Dean our reality now? HOW IS DEAN GOING TO COPE WITH THE STRIPPING OF HIS IDENTITY AND REPUTATION BY HIS TIME SPENT IN HELL WHERE HE ISN’T SPECIAL AND HE ISN’T IN CONTROL AND WHY CAN’T I STOP THINKING ABOUT THIS? How does Sam go on without Dean? Just kidding, we know that!!! (HELLO, “MYSTERY SPOT.” THANKS FOR YOUR HEARTBREAK.) There’s so much they can do with this, and I have no idea where this could possibly go. I’ll just sit here in my sadness because I know that regardless of what happens next, Sam is never going to forget this. Dean can’t ever be the same. Again, Kripke did something horrifically bold and risky by refusing to save Dean, and I admit I’m intrigued to see how this is going to be rectified.
Lord.
The video for “No Rest for the Wicked” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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“I admit I’m intrigued to see how this is going to be rectified.”
This makes a big assumption that it will be rectified….