{"id":4325,"date":"2015-01-01T13:00:36","date_gmt":"2015-01-01T21:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=4325"},"modified":"2014-12-18T20:50:20","modified_gmt":"2014-12-19T04:50:20","slug":"mark-watches-supernatural-s07e23-survival-of-the-fittest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2015\/01\/mark-watches-supernatural-s07e23-survival-of-the-fittest\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Supernatural’: S07E23 – Survival of the Fittest"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the twenty-third and final episode of the seventh season of\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural<\/i>, the Winchesters and their allies go after Dick Roman. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For body horror<\/b><\/p>\n

This was a good finale and a satisfying \u00e2\u20ac\u0153end\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to the Leviathans, but it definitely didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel as shocking or as huge as many of the past finales of\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural<\/i>. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not to say it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s awful or anything. But we were led to expect both Bobby\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and Dick Roman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death, so neither of them felt particularly surprising. However, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think they were\u00c2\u00a0supposed<\/i> to be. This was more about the machinations of Crowley, about Castiel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s decision to clean up his mess, about Bobby\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s acceptance of the inevitable.\u00c2\u00a0These<\/i> stories were better than the plot twists, though I have THINGS to say about THE THING because NO.<\/p>\n

Bobby<\/b><\/p>\n

So where does Bobby go at this point? Heaven? Hell? Purgatory? Is he a monster, or did he give himself up in time to avoid becoming that? It was sad to see him come to this, but he had gone\u00c2\u00a0way<\/i> too far, possessing Louise\u00c2\u00a0twice<\/i>, despite that she clearly didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t consent to it. Then he nearly killed Sam\u00c2\u00a0and<\/i> upset their entire plan to infiltrate SucraCorp. The longer he spent on Earth, the closer he got to becoming something he could never turn back from.<\/p>\n

And so, because\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural<\/i> is the cruelest show in the universe, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got to watch Bobby Singer die.\u00c2\u00a0Again<\/i>. And I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll play a big part at all in the next season. I really think that was it for him, the final time he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be on this show in any significant way. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s weird to say goodbye to him twice, you know? I found it fitting that as he burned away, the camera never panned over to Bobby. When we lose him again, the camera focuses solely on Sam and Dean as we watch them silently say goodbye to their friend. It works for me because we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to see Bobby\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s spirit in a violent state. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just gone, and I imagine that Sam and Dean don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have much grieving left to do. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve already done it.<\/p>\n

THANKS FOR THE EMOTIONS,\u00c2\u00a0SUPERNATURAL<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Assault on Dick Roman<\/b><\/p>\n

It was clear that the odds were stacked against Sam and Dean going into SucraCorp, but here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s how I figured out that Crowley had chosen to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153help\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the Winchesters. When it comes down to it, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a character who values himself and his own power more than anything else. So who was the bigger threat to Crowley? Who would have a greater chance of upsetting his quest for power? Dick Roman. I think Crowley sees the Winchesters as annoying insects. I think he saw Dick Roman \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the same creature who offered Crowley the entirety of Canada while he took over the whole world \u00e2\u20ac\u201c as the most legitimate threat to his own happiness and power.<\/p>\n

He had to take Dick Roman out, because Dick\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s threat was\u00c2\u00a0real<\/i>. Sam and Dean were just two humans \u00e2\u20ac\u201c irritating ones! \u00e2\u20ac\u201c who were up against a veritable empire. And because this is Crowley we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re talking about, he also made sure that all his bases were covered in the event that Sam and Dean failed.<\/p>\n

More on that in a bit. Castiel spends a good deal of this episode refusing to help in any significant way, despite that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s well aware of the stakes. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s certainly frustrating to watch, and I was glad that the show had Dean openly remind Cas that this was all\u00c2\u00a0his<\/i> fault. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also infuriating that he suddenly decides to be non-violent and non-confrontational when his participation would help clean up the mess that he made in the first place. (Cas is immensely adorable when\u00c2\u00a0he goes and gets the Winchesters sandwiches. IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S SO CUTE. Also, those sandwiches looked fantastic. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like one.) I do think the show does a good job of explaining\u00c2\u00a0why<\/i> Castiel is so reluctant to get involved. We know exactly what Cas is like when he gets carried away, so it makes sense that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d want to not get involved. But is it fair of him to count himself out at\u00c2\u00a0this<\/i> point in time?<\/p>\n

Of course, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s another issue at hand: Dean\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s own anger at Castiel, separate from the Leviathan threat. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know where Castiel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s characterization is headed in the future, since we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get any hints about that by the end of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Survival of the Fittest.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d But this most recent arc of his invokes a bit of drunk\/high Castiel and takes him in a new direction. It was a chance to explore an angelic story that wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/i> centered around power. But how fair is that to the world? Castiel has decided to remain neutral during one of the worst disasters the Winchesters have ever faced, and Dean voices his willingness to have Castiel by his side regardless. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a neat little scene,\u00c2\u00a0one that signifies that Dean and Cas might be able to be friends again while not ignoring the immense harm that Castiel has done. Just because Dean might be\u00c2\u00a0ready<\/i> to start to forgive Cas doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to be an easy process, you know?<\/p>\n

But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll have to pick up on in season eight. Over the course of this season, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen how Leviathans obey and respect the hierarchal nature of their society, so it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s kind of fascinating to me that this finale doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t wipe them all out. Edgar is apparently dead, and with the triumphant death of Dick Roman, the Leviathans will most likely scatter to the wind. But they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not gone, and the threat of individual Leviathans still remains. I\u00c2\u00a0am<\/i> interested to see how the show will deal with this. Will we still see the Winchesters hunting them down? How could you even track them? Well, these questions are kind of child\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s play compared to the fact that\u00c2\u00a0KILLING DICK ROMAN SENT CAS AND DEAN TO PURGATORY<\/b>. First of all: Sam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s face when Crowley tells him he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all alone? 100000% the least okay thing in this entire episode. Can a nice thing happen to Sam Winchester??? Can it??? Will you just let this poor man have a good day??? Secondly: WHERE IS CROWLEY TAKING KEVIN? What does he need Kevin for? Thirdly: THE DESIGN FOR PURGATORY IS GREAT. If it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s canonically the place where the spirits of all dead monsters go, then I\u00c2\u00a0love<\/i> the idea that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s eternally a dark forest where monsters perpetually hunt one another. I mean, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not to say I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m totally thrilled that Dean was left there all alone with no weapons. Where did Castiel disappear to??? Hopefully to get backup??? HOW DO THEY GET OUT OF PURGATORY?<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m definitely interested to see where this goes (particularly in Sam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s case, since I want to see what he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll do without Dean again). This was a solid finale, but I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say it was the best\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural<\/i> has to offer. Just good, not great.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Survival of the Fittest\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– Mark Does Stuff is now on Facebook<\/a>! Feel free to Like the page, which I’m running myself, for updates and SILLINESS.
\n– If you would like to support this website and keep Mark Does Stuff running, I’ve put up a detailed post explaining how you can!<\/a>
\n– Please check out the MarkDoesStuff.com<\/a>. All Mark Watches videos for past shows\/season are now archived there!
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next two Double Features are now in the schedule! I will be watching <\/b>The Sarah Connor Chronicles<\/i><\/b> and then <\/b>Leverage<\/i><\/b>. <\/b>Commission away!
\n– I will be at quite a few conventions and will be hosting events throughout 2015, so check my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page<\/a> often to see if I’m coming to your city!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"