In the first episode of season seven of Supernatural, I WAS NOT READY FOR THIS. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Supernatural.
Trigger Warning: For discussion of PTSD, body horror, homophobia.
Fuck. Fuck.
Sam
Well, my heart still hurts. I’m super pleased that this episode picks up immediately where the season six finale left off, since it allows the writers to keep a sense of urgency throughout the premiere. Y’all, this episode felt as electric and thrilling as a season finale! I’m so impressed! That also means that “Meet the New Boss” directly addresses the ramifications of Sam’s actions in the wake of his decision to accept the loss of the wall in his head. I love that because it conveys to us how quickly Sam experiences the negative affects of this decision. Almost immediately upon waking up, he experiences flashes of Hell, but they only get worse. They become walking hallucinations, vivid reminders of his experience, and they’re disruptive. It’s scary! And he can’t control when these events are triggered; they just happen.
Unsurprisingly, the show does that whole thing where something weird is happening to one of the Winchesters, and they don’t tell anyone about it, and then it’s ~dramatic~, and it’s… tiring. Repetitive. And once again, there’s no discussion of the context of why Sam lies about how badly his hallucinations are affecting him. We clearly see it! Sam overhears that conversation between Bobby and Dean where Dean just wants to have a break. Which I get! And I think that this episode does a fine job of presenting us with a version of Dean that’s different than what we’ve seen before. It’s rare for Dean to be cynical, but I got the sense that Sam empathized with what Dean wanted. So he believed it would best for Dean if he kept the hallucinations to himself.
But Sam never admits that he overheard the conversation, and so we get yet another scene of Dean yelling at Sam for being a liar. We’ve been here before, Supernatural. There’s nothing new being explored here! Thankfully, the writers are clearly not dragging this out beyond the premiere, so I do like how this didn’t last forever. Mainly, this wasn’t enough to distract from all the other great moments in “Meet the New Boss.” Also, I refuse to accept “Lucifer’s” explanation because NO. THAT CAN’T BE HAPPENING. (Hi, Lucifer! I kinda missed you.)
The New Boss
Speaking of which, HOLY SHIT, CASTIEL IS SO TERRIFYING HERE. It’s not just the way Misha Collins plays him, though that’s a significant part of what makes this portrayal so unnerving. There’s a lot that Castiel does off-screen, that we only learn of through news reports or radio broadcasts, that help characterize what he’s like as God. The first example we get of that is in the opening scene as he graciously spares the lives of the Winchesters and Bobby, but then completely refuses to heal Sam because… well, he’s vindictive. Consumed with power. Obsessed with his own standing. And you can see that in everything he does after this. He smites all of the angels who supported Raphael. He visits a church and smites a hypocritical, homophobic pastor. He kills numerous religious leaders, and I assume that they were either hypocrites or non-Christian. I say that because he also kills a bunch of New Age motivational speakers. (Actually, does he kill them??? They’re “brought down,” but I don’t know what that implies.) He even disbands the KKK! (I can’t complain about that either, Dean.)
And while some of it is humorous or even admirable, it’s not without a whole lot of problems. Namely, it’s a horrifying display of power and violence. At what point does Castiel stop? How many people have “wronged” him? How is this ever going to improve humanity or Heaven? What’s Castiel’s endgame? We don’t get a sense of this throughout “Meet the New Boss” because there isn’t an endgame. Castiel lives in the moment, drunk off his own power, acting out one petty vengeance after another, saving others not because it is good and just, but because it might make him look good and just.
It’s so messed up.
Death
I’m biased. I’m going to love any episode with Death in it, and by gods, y’all, THIS EPISODE UTILIZES HIM SO WELL. I haven’t spoken about it yet, but I’m super into stories that do THAT THING. So, it’s pretty rare, honestly, and I’ll try to describe it using this episode as an example. Supernatural exists in a world where the supernatural happens unbeknownst to the public, and that premise has largely been maintained throughout six complete seasons. Just when the writers get close to having to reveal the existence of all of this to the world at large, they pull the story back. That even happens on a smaller level, since hunters try to contain the world of the supernatural from the very people who are tormented by it.
I found it incredibly exciting that the writers completely abandoned this idea fairly quickly. Castiel is in public. He’s caught on camera numerous times. The news can’t stop talking about him or what he’s done, even if they haven’t connected them all to him. And then we get the ritual to bind Death, which takes place in front of two characters who are suddenly introduced to God, Death, and the supernatural in the span of ten minutes. Yes, it’s funny, but this shit doesn’t happen all that often in genre shows like this!
Anyway, DEATH. Shit, what an incredible scene. Julian Richings has this unreal ability to pull me right into any scene, and it’s astounding to watch. We know that Death is going to be unhappy with being bound, and we know that he cares about little in the world. But even Death was surprised by the Winchesters’ request: kill God. WHO THEN IMMEDIATELY SHOWS UP, OH SHIT. As if this needed to be any more tense, the show decides that this is the perfect time to introduce something new to its ongoing mythology: Leviathans. Older than souls, locked away in Purgatory because they’d consume the world, they’re now within Castiel and EATING AWAY HIS VESSEL. I – I am legitimately afraid of seeing these things. That scene with the Leviathans trying to push out of Cas’s abdomen was TOO MUCH FOR ONE HUMAN TO WITNESS. If that is what we’re starting with, how much more worse is this going to get? (Answer: It’s Supernatural, of course it’s going to get worse.)
But not even the imminent destruction of the world at the hands of Leviathans is enough to get Death to change his mind. Nope, it’s his dislike of Castiel. He’s annoyed with Castiel’s arrogance! Hey, it’s a reason, RUN WITH IT WINCHESTERS. Which they do, and I DID NOT EXPECT THIS.
Change of Heart
The task set before the Winchesters and Bobby was already damn near impossible: re-open another door to Purgatory in the same place they opened the first one, do so at a specific time, and then compel Castiel to give up the souls. Just compel him. Because they damn sure can’t force him to do it. If it weren’t for the Leviathans, Castiel would not have a single weakness. So, am I meant to assume that the Leviathans within Castiel caused him to kill all those people at the campaign office? Or was that merely a breaking point? I kind of like the former option as an explanation, as if the Leviathans were so desperate to escape that they literally controlled Castiel’s body. However, both explanations still work, and I think it’s important to discuss the fact that Castiel’s campaign of violence is horrible. That Senator seemed pretty awful, and I thought Castiel’s justification for claiming she abused power was pretty rad. But you can’t deny that the slaughter of everyone in that office was a wretched disgusting thing!
So maybe that’s one thing that sent Castiel to the Winchesters, but I’d like to think that Sam’s prayer to God (THAT IS SO WEIRD TO TYPE) was the main driving force. Y’all, just think of the implications of Sam being the one to send out that prayer. Sam has been controlled by forces more powerful than himself before, and he’s telling Castiel that he wants to give him another chance, and it’s like he’s talking to himself because Sam wants the world to give him a second chance, and no, I’m not getting emotional writing about Sam Winchester. I’M NOT, OKAY. I’M FINE.
It’s a nice touch, and I think it’s an entirely believable explanation for why Castiel does come to Sam and Dean for help. It’s also clear that this is going to lead to a very different story for season seven than I imagined. My god, my predictions really are garbage, y’all. Cas isn’t going to be the villain this season; he’s going to try to win back Dean’s trust and respect, isn’t he? Castiel immediately expresses remorse to Dean, and while Dean (understandably!!!) is not interested in forgiveness just at this moment, I think Dean was shocked at how willing Castiel was to apologize. Like, there are two tiny little expressions that flick across Dean’s face in the final scene that make me think this is true. Because what would this site be if I wasn’t deeply analyzing micro-expressions??!????!?!?!? IT’S MEANINGFUL, OKAY.
I honestly thought Castiel would be God for the entirety of season seven. I’m not at all disappointed by what happens here, just shocked beyond belief. Castiel was God for one single episode, and upon seeing the wrath he inflicted on others, he willingly gave up all those souls so that he could begin to make amends, both to Dean and to the rest of the world. I have no idea how this is going to pan out with all the angels, given that he just slaughtered a ton of them. But I don’t even know if this is a conversation I can have at this point because THE LEVIATHANS DIDN’T GO BACK TO PURGATORY. THEY’RE STILL INSIDE CASTIEL. I can’t entertain the notion that Castiel is really dead, but what if my prediction is true? What if Cas is the Big Bad, but as a Leviathan?
Jesus, y’all, Misha Collins can be so terrifying, but you know what? I have to agree with the Leviathan inside of Castiel: THIS SEEMS LIKE IT’S GOING TO BE A LOT OF FUN.
The video for “Meet the New Boss” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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