{"id":4485,"date":"2015-03-06T13:00:21","date_gmt":"2015-03-06T21:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=4485"},"modified":"2015-02-06T18:35:10","modified_gmt":"2015-02-07T02:35:10","slug":"mark-watches-supernatural-s08e22-clip-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2015\/03\/mark-watches-supernatural-s08e22-clip-show\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Supernatural’: S08E22 – Clip Show"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the twenty-second and penultimate episode of the eighth season of\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural<\/i>, OH, NOW I GET THE EPISODE TITLE. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For gore\/blood.<\/b><\/p>\n

Well, this just feels more fucked up than usual. Good god.<\/p>\n

Castiel\/Metatron<\/b><\/p>\n

I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know how this show is going to possibly cram in Sam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s last trial AND two more trials \u00c2\u00a0for Castiel into the final episode, unless what we saw here was just an introduction to something for season nine. Admittedly, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s kind of strange to give us something\u00c2\u00a0this<\/i> huge right at the end of a season, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m into it. After Dean summarily rejects Castiel (such sadness!), he finds a new purpose in Metatron, who has one hell of an idea: bring order to Heaven by\u00c2\u00a0closing<\/i> it through the three trials.<\/p>\n

It makes sense that the writers would give Castiel a new direction in the wake of Dean\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s refusal to accept Castiel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s apology. Which is a fair thing for Dean to do, by the way; after how many times Castiel has disappointed Dean, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear that Dean needs more than just an apology. So part of me wonders if Castiel is pursuing this avenue with Metatron as a way to do just that. Does he believe that Dean might appreciate him more if he shuts all the angels in Heaven? That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just speculation at this point, of course, and my hope is that Castiel isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t being manipulated. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a possibility with Metatron, but I also can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see to what end. Perhaps this is as simple as it seems: Metatron, in his conversations with Kevin, realized just how horrible things had gotten on earth. Possessing the knowledge of the trials to close Heaven, he feels obligated to finally get involved in matters concerning the angels.<\/p>\n

Of course, like the trials to close the Gates of Hell, the angel tablet trials are SUPER DIFFICULT and at odds with the apparently morality of the place that is to be closed. Closing Hell involves acts of moral \u00e2\u20ac\u0153goodness,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d like saving an innocent soul from Hell or curing a demon. Closing Heaven, so far, involves MURDERING THE ONLY SURVIVING NEPHILIM. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s seems particularly heinous, you know? Angels view nephilim as abominations, but we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re given no other justification for why the nephilim here must die. So it just feels random and cruel, and there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a high chance that, once again, Castiel is doing something he believes is right but is utterly not.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m scared to find out what the other two trials are.<\/p>\n

The Third Trial<\/b><\/p>\n

So, curing a demon is akin to an exorcism\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 sort of? I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m still struggling a bit to understand this, but I\u00c2\u00a0am<\/i> thankful that the show is keeping the Men of Letters bunker around. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been a fun and refreshing addition to the show, which means that since I like a thing, that thing is probably going to be taken away from me soon.\u00c2\u00a0SUPERNATURAL<\/i> DOES NOT LET ME HAVE NICE THINGS. But with the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153growth\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of this space, the potential for future storylines also grows. While I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get lots of jokes about the Winchester dungeon (you smut writers better have incorporated that into your fic I AM COUNTING ON Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL), it also means that a story like this is now possible. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got a place to have\u00c2\u00a0prisoners<\/i>. Will that be an asset??? Who knows???<\/p>\n

Which brings me to a nitpicking complaint that\u00c2\u00a0still<\/i> bothers me. WHY DIDN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T THEY TAKE ABADDON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S BODY TO THE GIANT DEVIL\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S TRAP DUNGEON IN ORDER TO PUT HER BACK TOGETHER??? You literally\u00c2\u00a0just<\/i> discovered it. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got protections against demons, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pretty much inescapable, none of the Winchesters\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 enemies know it exists\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not some random warehouse. Look, this is just\u00c2\u00a0weird<\/i> writing. These men are fools; they know how to deal with demons. Leaving Abaddon by herself for any length of time was just a\u00c2\u00a0bad<\/i> idea; no, it was an AMATEUR MISTAKE. How could they make a mistake like that? Why couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Dean take the phone call while Sam stayed behind to watch? This honestly felt like the writers needed some way for Abaddon to escape and nothing more, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sloppy as hell. The whole scene was distracting because even under extreme pressure, the Winchesters almost never make mistakes like this.<\/p>\n

Anyway, despite how\u00c2\u00a0overwhelming this episode felt at times (given the number of plots unfolding simultaneously), I think the writers intended for us to feel like \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Clip Show\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was overflowing. The Winchesters are down to the wire, the stakes are ridiculous, and everyone is desperate to get what they want. Therefore, it was the perfect time for Crowley to do something that was so awful, that even Sam and Dean would reconsider their attempt to close Hell. And good fucking god, going back and systematically killing people that the Winchesters once saved is really,\u00c2\u00a0really<\/i> awful. Unsurprisingly, I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t figure out how the events of this episode were related to the death of the character in the cold open, one we hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seen since THE SECOND EPISODE\u00c2\u00a0EVER<\/i>. It made no sense to me!<\/p>\n

The more I think about what Crowley has done \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and what he might do in the future \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the more fucked up this episode becomes. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s preying on one of the only things that gives Sam and Dean comfort. As messed up as their lives are, as unhappy as they can be, they still know that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re saving people who don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t deserve to suffer. So what happens when Crowley starts to take that away from them? Does it change how they feel about closing the gates of Hell? We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not given a concrete answer from Sam at the end of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Clip Show, though I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m guessing he really will go through with the final trial. (Using the exorcism, though? I DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T KNOW. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not clear either.)<\/p>\n

And what of Metatron and Castiel? I could see this show closing Hell; they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve done a lot with demons and they could try something else for season nine. But closing Heaven? That would be a bold choice for the writers to close BOTH Heaven and Hell in the next episode. What happens to Sam after the third trial? Is he \u00e2\u20ac\u0153purified\u00e2\u20ac\u009d? Was that even a clue? WILL I EVER GET MY QUESTIONS ANSWERED???<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Clip Show\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 Double Features will be\u00c2\u00a0The Legend of Korra<\/i>, seasons 2 – 4, series 8 of\u00c2\u00a0Doctor Who<\/i>, and Kings<\/i>.<\/b>
\n– The 2015 Mark Does Stuff tour is being announced!!! Check my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page<\/a> often to see if I’m coming to your city!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"