In the twenty-first episode of the eleventh season of\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural<\/i>, this was a treat. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Well, that was better than I expected, considering that my least favorite writing duo of possibly\u00c2\u00a0all<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0time penned \u00e2\u20ac\u0153All in the Family.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I think it helps that this followed \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Call me Shurley\u00e2\u20ac\u009d because much of what was set-up in that episode\u00c2\u00a0had<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0to be addressed here. LET\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S TALK.<\/p>\n
Proof<\/b><\/p>\n
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll take a complicated stance at the beginning of this. I think having Chuck be a major force in this episode is brilliant, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153All in the Family\u00e2\u20ac\u009d sticks with the promise at the end of the previous episode. And it makes sense that the Winchesters wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily trust that Chuck was truly there. Let the video below stand as evidence that the appearance of Kevin made me emotional. I get why it happened. Who else would the Winchesters trust?<\/p>\n
And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s precisely why I feel so betrayed by it. Kevin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s appearance here is YET AGAIN for the purpose of someone else. He exists to get the Winchesters to believe Chuck is real and to steamroll the audience. Then, after getting an \u00e2\u20ac\u0153upgrade\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to Heaven, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gone. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s it. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s literally a means to move the plot forward.\u00c2\u00a0Again<\/i>. After the last episode, it feels even more glaring when this show relies on the same terrible tropes for Kevin.<\/p>\n
Frustration<\/b><\/p>\n
Yet I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t deny that once Sam and Dean sat down with Chuck, this show gave me some damn fine writing and acting. I know I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve said this before, but I think that every once in a while, this show is able to tap into an emotional source that many of us can understand. Now, matters are complicated because of Dean\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s issues with his father, so the scene where he confronts Chuck is layered as hell. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also got a different meaning. Through it, we get a human confronting God about their absence in the world. I am continually surprised that these moments aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t crass or trite, that\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0finds a balance in the writing that can affect me so strongly while also making sense within the canon universe.<\/p>\n
Dean crying over God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s absence = TOTAL DEVASTATION. SERIOUSLY.<\/p>\n
But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an important dynamic to represent within the text. Dean is far less likely to forgive God for that absence, while Sam is mostly ecstatic to have God back. And if they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to have Chuck on their side, I think it was necessary that there be a conversation like this before anything could move forward.<\/p>\n
Endgame<\/b><\/p>\n
I appreciated that we didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to wait too long to learn why Metatron seemed so distraught over the end of God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s autobiography. Actually, I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a brilliant story choice. Instead of keeping a mystery going until the finale, we learn what the endgame is\u00c2\u00a0now<\/i>. Metatron reveals that God plans to offer himself up to be caged by Amara in exchange for her leaving the world. This reveals an uncomfortable truth: I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think God knows how pissed off Amara is. Thus, Metatron gains an ally in Dean, since neither character has faith that this will satisfy Amara. She is insatiable, and her continued torment of humanity throughout this episode is evidence of that. She doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just want to end God; she wants to destroy everything he created, too.<\/p>\n
So now we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got an additional conflict. The Winchesters have to convince Chuck to\u00c2\u00a0destroy<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0Amara, rather than sacrifice himself. Well, good luck with that.<\/p>\n
Sacrifice<\/b><\/p>\n
Hey, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s technically a heist here, and while I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t claim to understand the whole Dean\/Amara thing at\u00c2\u00a0all<\/i>, I still thought it was staged well. It was scary, and I assumed someone was going to die. I thought it was Donatello, honestly. The sudden appearance of a prophet in the midst of one of Amara\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fog attacks seemed way too coincidental for me, so I assumed that he was under Amara\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s control. (And was I meant to understand that once Kevin left the veil, he was truly \u00e2\u20ac\u0153dead,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d thereby activating the next prophet?)<\/p>\n
You know, I do want to address the Dean\/Amara thing a bit. I just don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get it. I could understand a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153connection\u00e2\u20ac\u009d because Dean freed her, but the show seems to be trying to get me to accept some weird cosmic love affair, and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t buy it. At all. It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help that Dean visibly does not consent to\u00c2\u00a0any<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0of this. His body language during the Amara confrontation screams opposition, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s vocally rejected her, and yet I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m still expected to think that this is something he wants deep down? What I need is just a bit more\u00c2\u00a0definition<\/i>. Did she put something inside him to make him feel this way? How is this part of some greater plan?<\/p>\n
Regardless, Chuck\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s presence is responsible for setting off a tense sequence where the Lucifer heist is threatened, which gets Amara pissed, and I EXPECTED LIKE EVERYONE TO DIE. The most surprising aspect of the end of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153All in the Family,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d though, was Metatron\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sacrifice. Sometimes, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of the best things this show did. (And I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m thinking of his early appearance.s) Other times\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll just say they relied on him. A lot. But in this episode, he serves his purpose. He notifies Dean of God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s intent, but he also realizes his own futility. What is he anymore? An angel without grace and without much power beyond his own memory. So in a last-ditch effort, he offers himself. He does something unselfish, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. I bet he\u00c2\u00a0knew<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0his attempt to banish Amara was pointless, but it bought Sam, Lucifer, and Donatello time.<\/p>\n
I honestly didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect it, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all.<\/p>\n
Lucifer<\/b><\/p>\n
OKAY, I AM ACTUALLY QUITE INTERESTED IN SEEING HOW LUCIFER AND GOD WILL WORK TOGETHER. YES, PLEASE.<\/p>\n
The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153All in the Family\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded\u00c2\u00a0here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n – I am now on Patreon<\/a><\/b>!!! MANY SURPRISES ARE IN STORE FOR YOU IF YOU SUPPORT ME<\/a>. In the twenty-first episode of the eleventh season of\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural, this was a treat. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[590],"tags":[591],"class_list":["post-5591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-supernatural","tag-mark-watches-supernatural"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5591\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n– I\u00c2\u00a0will be at numerous conventions in 2016! Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page.<\/a>
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features for Mark Watches will be Death Note<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0and\u00c2\u00a0Neon Genesis Evangelion<\/em>. On Mark Reads, Diane Duane’s Young Wizards<\/i> series will replace the Emelan books.
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"