Quick Reaction: 9x22 Stairway to Heaven

[hells_half_acre]

Hello my friends!

So, this week it's back to the old routine - only, once again, I didn't have any alcohol, because I'm just getting over a bad cold and I didn't think my body would appreciate getting tipsy right now. It has enough trouble just maintaining itself when sober. That being said, just because I haven't been drinking doesn't mean I'm going to remember the episode perfectly - so, quotes and order of events aren't going to be correct. I've only seen the episode once about an hour or so ago.

Now... to the episode....

We begin...um... in an ice-cream place!! Yay! Where we find a prissy mother questing a girl who's their on her own about where her parents are. She doesn't have parents, apparently, she's an angel. Seriously though, did the vessel not have parents? Maybe angels took over the whole family. In any case, it's a moot point, because in walks another angel and BLOWS EVERYONE UP! Geeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzz..... and apparently he did it "for Castiel" - okay, buddy.

Then we cut to Sam, who is sleeping ADORABLY on his stomach.. fully clothed, because the Winchesters always sleep fully clothed when times are tough. And Dean wakes him up, and promptly gets a gun pointed at him, because, of course, even in the bunker - THE SAFEST PLACE ON EARTH BASICALLY - Sam is sleeping with his hand on a gun. Listen, I just don't think it's a good idea to wake up people who OBVIOUSLY suffer form PTSD with loud noises...

Sam agrees with me, telling Dean in his adorable sleepy voice that he could have shot him. Sam's adorable, is what I'm saying.

Anyway, the whole point to the exercise is to let us know that 1)Dean is weirdly not sleeping - yeah, that's not a bad sign. 2)Cas called and needs them for something in Missouri... and then we get Sam having to convince Dean that there's no reason to bring the first blade along with them. Dean agrees and leaves it on the table, to show Sam that he can and convince Sam that Sam's fears are unfounded. BUT THEY AREN'T! Man, as soon as Dean left the room, I was sitting there thinking "Sam, hide the first blade! HIDE IT!" But nope, Sam doesn't hide it and Dean obviously double backs and picks it up. Sigh.

Off to Missouri, where Sam and Dean are addressed as "Agent Spears and Aguilera" because the cops are expecting them.... and I laugh forever, because Cas tells them that he noticed their aliases were usually popular musicians...and yeah... awesome.

Anyway, I like the way this scene plays out, because you see how absolutely horrified Cas is by the crime, and that he puts it even below Metatron... and I like the fact that they don't show us what body Cas is looking at, because I kinda assumed it was the girl, but nope! We find out later that she was ATOMIZED. (BTW: Being "atomized" is actually how I'd like to die. I really don't want to leave a corpse behind... my brother in law says I have control issues, but man, I just don't want people looking at me all dead. I really need to write a will, because it's very important to me that NO ONE LOOKS AT MY CORPSE. Oh god. Okay, let's get away from my weird issues and return to the show... sorry...

So, um, what happens next? I don't remember, let's cut to Handsome and Jerkface.

Metatron is trying on a Castiel-like trench coat.... yeah, that's not creepy. And Gadreel knocks on the door. I love the "One second!" followed by Gadreel walking in and being like "what? I waited one second!" Hahaha... seriously, how can you not love Gadreel, he has all the charm of S4 Cas! (Yes, yes, I know he killed Kevin, but... you'll just have to forgive me for being totally over that.)

Gadreel's all pissed off about Metatron having him followed and Metatron is like "but you were meeting with the enemy!" and Gadreel is all like "yeah, but I wasn't JOINING HIM! I promise!" And man, I really want Gadreel to join Castiel... seriously, HE HAS ALL THE CHARM OF S4 CASTIEL. And may I remind you, that S4 is when all you folks fell in love with Castiel... so, you're just going to let me have this one, is what I'm saying. You all forgave Castiel for letting Sam out of the panic room and starting the apocalypse, you can TOTALLY forgive Gadreel for killing someone... or at least I can.

What was I talking about? Oh hey... Gadreel has a very large jaw to clench, and I have to wonder why it's not more obvious to Metatron that he's totally losing his second in command here... but I'm getting ahead of myself... Metatron and Gadreel have an appointment to meet... umm... an angel whose name starts with T. Let's call him Tybalt, because I can't remember his actual name.

Tybalt is apparently the leader of the last biggest faction of angels. So, he's prime courting material. If Metatron can get Tybalt to join Metatron's team, then Metatron will have the bigger army. Now... there are a couple of issues with this: 1)If Metatron wanted to stop the faction fighting, why is he fighting in a faction? 2)If Metatron actually wants to be the underdog-hero in this story that he's writing, shouldn't he WANT the smaller army?

Okay, back Sam and Dean and Cas...

So, Dean finds Castiel having minions super creepy... moreover though, as soon as they see the video that the suicide bomber shouted "for Castiel!" before blowing himself up, he totally doesn't trust that Castiel isn't behind it. Dean tends to hold people to their past mistakes a lot... and he DOES have a point that the last time Castiel had any sort of power, he did bad things with it. Now, what Dean is failing to mention and what makes his accusations completely unfair is that the last time Castiel was high on power, he was actually full of leviathan... now he's just himself. Thoughhhhhhhhhhh... yeah, there's also S6 where Cas TOTALLY DID lie to Dean and Sam the whole season and do bad things in order to defeat Raphael, so, yeah, okay... there's reason enough to distrust him, I SUPPOSE. Since this is a similar situation... Dean knows that Cas will go to great lengths to protect Heaven and other angels, and that human collateral might stop being a priority at some point - just like monster-collateral was in S6.

Anyhoo.. they start fighting in the middle of the command centre, which is not good for Castiel's image as Commander... also, it's always embarrassing when couple fight in public.... Sam realizes this and quickly gets them to move the fight into Castiel's office.

Castiel is OFFENDED AND APPALLED. Dean doesn't care. Castiel wants to go off and track down the angel that didn't show up for roll-call in the morning... and since Dean doesn't trust Cas, he commands Sam to go with Cas... and this is where I said, "but Sam doesn't trust Dean!"...Sam though, plays the part of the good subordinate and follows Dean's orders. Him and Cas take the caddy to wherever the heck Josiah (I think that was his name?) went...

SASSY SCENES! You all know how much I love me some Sam+Cas scenes. Of course, all they talk about is the thing that unites them - and that's Dean. Dean's more intense since he got the Mark... I love Cas' line about how Dean's "always been angry" but now it's amplified.

Meanwhile, back at Cas HQ, Dean is interrogating people and YEAH, someone REALLY should have stayed with him... last week we saw Sam very skillfully both manipulate a suspect AND prevent Dean from resorting to violence, but without Sam there, Dean just goes into attack mode. Now, mind you, the angel KIND OF ASKED FOR IT... I know I'm like, victim-blaming, but seriously, don't tell a guy that what he does doesn't help people when the belief that he helps people is the only thing that makes his miserable life bearable! Or, putting that completely aside: If you know someone is a murderer DO NOT ANTAGONIZE THE MURDERER! It's not rocket science. But, we'll get to the low IQ of the angels later...

The point is, Dean gets two more names out of stupid angel girl... Tessa and Constantine.

Tessa. The Reaper.

So, here is the part where I start getting a LITTLE annoyed. Because, guys, I'm not going to lie, I liked reapers as forces of nature. I liked them as being under Death's command, not Heaven's. I liked them as being outside of the angel/demon dichotomy. I liked them as immortal beings that you had to be dead or close to death to see.

What the show has done now, and I guess started doing in S8, is turn Reapers into a subset of angels... like cupids. There are several problems with this - firstly, it doesn't explain the previous "have to be dead/dying in order to see them", it doesn't explain why they're under Death's command and not God's (in SPN universe, Death and God are equals, one creates and one "destroys", and I LOVED that... and I don't want that to change), also, in S4, we learned that if Reapers weren't able to do their jobs, then NO ONE WOULD DIE. People are still dying, and we're not getting fallen Reapers running into people's houses when grandma has a heartattack and telling her to go into the light or whatever... so, yeah, SLIGHTLY ANNOYED is a bit of understatement... it's a retcon and it's a BAD retcon because the rules don't match up.

So, because of that bit of negativity, I'll now have a point of positivity to balance - Dean mentions Fiddler on the Roof, which totally supports my headcanon that at some point in his formative years, Dean spent time in New York in a Jewish neighbourhood. So that's cool.

Anyway, Dean tracks down Tessa and stops her from exploding herself, takes her back to the compound and interrogates her. She seems to fully believe that Castiel ordered her to do it. So, there's that.

Let's go back to Handsome and Jerkface who are now with Tybalt at a bowling alley.

This scene was amusing. I liked Tybalt being like "Who cares about Heaven! I LIKE Earth"... Metatron actually did find an angel (faction?) that LIKES free will! Yay! More than that, Tybalt loves bowling... and I loved when he's like "breath in that smell" and Gadreel is like "old shoes and alcoholism?!" Hehehe... hilarious. Guys, I really love Gadreel, I don't think you understand. I think he is my Cas... remember when everyone went crazy for Cas and then Misha? And I was like "Um, okay! I guess! Sure! Whatever! I fully support fandom enthusiasm even though I don't really think I'm experiencing it to the same level you are!" Well, I think those of you who don't like Gadreel are just going to have to give me this one... you're just going to have to be like "Okay, whatever you like, sweetheart" and then pet me on the head like a "mentally deficient puppy."

So, Tybalt challenges them to a game, and Metatron figure he can work with that... and we return to Sam and Cas? Sure, let's return to Sam and Cas.

Sam and Cas end up at yet another abandoned factory of some sort. They can't get in. Sam tries (and um, they're VERY OBVIOUSLY not going for stealth here, btw) and the door doesn't budge, and Cas tries... and they try until darkness falls and then suddenly Cas has a blacklight in his hand! Haha... kind of weird angel ability. Anyway, the blacklight reveals the message "why is 6 afraid of 7" and Cas supposes it's because prime numbers are intimidating, and I do love Cas... I do... don't get me wrong there. I love him to pieces. But Sam is like "because 7 8 9!" and the door opens, and Cas is like "just like Lord of the Rings!" and informs Sam that he's very pop-culture savvy now. Adorable.

Anyway, it's explore the creepy building time! There are SAWS IN THE WALLS! What the hell! And they actually WALK through them. Guys... listen, I don't care if it looks like they've stopped moving, you still CRAWL UNDER THOSE F*CKERS! Because better safe then COMPLETE DEAD YOU IDIOTS.

Uh, I think we cut away to something else, but I'm just going to keep talking about Sam and Cas...

They end up finding what Cas believes is the door to Heaven - but dude, it is never that easy. Sam tries to tell him so, but he ends up going in. Only to find a cheesy prom-type empty party set-up with a teasing note... and what looks to be the corpse of Josiah, who obviously fell for a trap intended for Cas. Josiah has been lit on fire and burned with holy oil. Ugh, so horrible and completely gross. What's even more gross is that it seems to have burnt his eyelids off, because, yeah... ANYWAY, the even more horrifying part is that he's not even dead yet. He tells Castiel about... you know, I totally forget... something about betraying Castiel for Metatron, I guess. But the main point Josiah makes is to say that when he looked into Castiel's eyes, he didn't see an angel.

And that was a really cool point - because it makes me wonder if the stolen grace is actually a noticable thing, but maybe only for those with a keen eye. Castiel must still, on some level, look like a human.. and it's not something he can disguise from angels who know what to look for, I guess. Anyway, I found it interesting.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Dean's found out that Tessa is suicidal because she can HEAR the souls that are trapped in the veil. Maybe people still die without reapers for some reason, but they just can't be taken into heaven or hell? Ugh, it just annoys me that the mechanics of the universe don't make sense anymore! Sorry.

Dean, for some weird reason.. intimidation? Brings out the first blade, and Tessa impales herself on it. Yeah...

Hannah, Cas' second in command (and I do like the fact that in BOTH holy wars, Cas has had a female second in command), is SUPER PISSED OFF, even though she wanted to smack Tessa before, killing her was not on the agenda. She has angels disarm and tie Dean up - and I guess there was no collateral damage there, so Dean was at least of enough sound mind that he didn't use the first blade on them.

Meanwhile, back at the bowling alley, Constantine shows up to suicide bomb Metatron... though, I think that was just for show, and he actually intended to suicide bomb Tybalt the whole time, as we find out later. I think the "Metatron!" call out was in order to give Metatron enough warning to get out of the line of fire. (An aside: I love the fact that Tybalt's bowling team was called The Saints.)

So, Sam and Cas arrive back at HQ to find Dean tied up and Cas' underlings pissed off. Before Cas can deal with Dean though, or hear his side of things, Metatron calls on skype.... and in front of Castiel's entire army, basically says that Cas is behind the bombers, that Tybalts death meant that everyone in Tybalt's camp is now in Metatron's army, that Castiel's grace is actually stolen (which we know from Castiel's reaction to stealing it is a huge no-no in angel society), that Castiel only cares about himself and the Winchesters, and that everyone in Castiel's army who wants to join up with Metatron can do so with complete amnesty... they just have to recognize Metatron as the new God... because it's obvious to Metatron that angels aren't capable of free will and NEED a leader... and wow, yeah, the fact that God!Levi!Cas said the same thing back in 7x01 should basically be a huge red flag to the angels...

After the call, Castiel tries to defend himself saying that Metatron is lying, unfortunately, Hannah questions him on the two things that WEREN'T lies... 1)the fact that Cas' grace is stolen and 2)the fact that Cas cares more about the Winchesters than Heaven.

Hannah says that if Cas punished Dean (with the death penalty) for killing Tessa, then she'll believe that he's a good leader, but if he doesn't then she'll believe Metatron... and that's a PRETTY STUPID THING TO DO. Because if Cas DID kill Dean, that wouldn't prove that he was a good leader, it would prove that he's NOT, because killing people ISN'T A GOOD THING, even if they're criminals.. and even if you believe in the death penalty, killing someone without a fair trial is REALLY not good. Moreover, I'd seriously suspect the morals of anyone capable of killing their best friend, I don't care what that best friend has done.

So.. yeah, Cas chooses Dean over his army, and his army leaves.

Cut to heaven, where Metatron is gloating. Gadreel is jaw-clenching because Metatron used angels that Gadreel recruited... Gadreel is basically REALLY tired of killing people by now, especially people he didn't want to kill.... and he's really sick and tired of Metatron not telling him the goddamn plan! Basically, he's had it.

So, we drive back to the bunker with the boys in silence... once they get inside, Sam is annoyed at Dean for lying about leaving the blade behind. Dean informs Sam that until Metatron is dead, they aren't team, they're a dictatorship... and yeah, Dean is basically putting the dick in dictator. It's even more concerning because Dean doesn't even NEED the first blade to kill Metatron, they could use a regular angel sword for that, of which they seem to have plenty! They're always pulling those things out of thin air. So, yeah, Dean has gone psychopathic on us.

Sam doesn't know what the hell to do about it though, so he just stays quiet and goes to put his stuff away... because seriously... I don't think there's ever been a point on this show where DEAN has been going darkside. Sam has absolutely no idea how to deal with this situation.

Dean has a chat with Cas, confirming that the stolen grace is burning out - and possibly burning Cas out? That phrasing concerns me. Metatron always repeats "It's burning out and it's burning you out with it" or words to that effect. I always figured that once Cas burned away the stolen grace, he'd just go back to being human... but what if it's somehow worse than that? I don't know... it's concerning.

Cas just smiles though and says that he hopes it lasts long enough to take down Metatron. He asks Dean if Dean really thought that Cas would order those suicide bombers, and Dean tells him that he just saw Cas choose to save one guy instead of keeping his army, so of course not... I kind of have to wonder there though, and I'm not even a shipper, but part of me thinks Cas' expression was a bit of "it wasn't just ANY guy, Dean...."

Dean reassures Cas that they can still defeat Metatron, just the three of them, because they've done it before.

And then Gadreel shows up! And yes! I was wondering if anything would come of the fact that Gadreel knows exactly where the bunker is and can obviously get through the wards.. and something DOES come of it.

Gadreel comes in peace - he wants to turn on Metatron. He says all the right things... while Dean glares at him in what can only be described as "kill mode"... but then Dean goes in for a handshake, and I think "yay! no wait! This is too easy- NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Because Dean then WHIPS out the first blade and slashes Gadreel across the chest! Sam and Cas immediately spring into action and pull Dean back, but OH MAN.......NOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo................my Gadreel.

But he'd not dead - please don't be dead or dying... just injured... please just be injured.

And we break for next week...

But, the promo for next week....the promo for next week definitely makes it look like my love for Gadreel might end up breaking my little heart... because, yeah... it.... doesn't... look... good.



Alright, so, let me know what you thought in comments and whatnot! You know, the usual!

Comments

[frozen_delight]

I have to confess that I was rather disappointed by this episode in comparison to last week's, maybe because Crowley wasn't in it and I always tend to be more enthusiastic about episodes that feature him... but mostly because of everything you've also pointed out to do with Tessa. I've always liked her a lot and I was sad to see her first be demystified and then killed in such a pointless fashion.

Like you, I absolutely adore Gadreel and the promo for next week's making me feel really sad. However, I do not think that Dean managed to kill him at the end of this ep since he seemed to slice the blade across Gadreel's chest rather than straight into it. (Why was no one trying to stop him? It was so obvious he woild attack, I thought. And why has no one tried to take the blade away from him when they got back to the bunker?... Maybe it's like you say and Sam's simply clueless as to what to do to stop Dean from going darkside because so far roles have always been reversed.)

Ah, I wish the characters I like wouldn't always die so soon...

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I feel the same way as you do about those points. Ignoring Tessa's demystifying and death, though, I liked the episode.

Ugh, I REALLY don't want Gadreel to die. Maybe I'm the only one that feels that way though, maybe no one else can forgive him for Kevin's death... maybe everyone is right and I'm wrong... but still, I can't help how I feel about it.

[raloria.livejournal.com]

The whole thing with Tessa has me confused as well. How can she be in with the angels when she's a reaper? Why follow Castiel? It's too sudden and without enough explanation and now another cool character is dead. :(

You gotta wonder why on earth Sam didn't make sure he had the First Blade after Dean didn't-really-kill Tessa. How did Dean still have the weapon there in the bunker? *sigh*

I'm starting to like Gadreel again. I hope there's some redemption for his character because it looks like he really wants to do the right thing, just keeps making bad choices. But yeah...can't forgive him about Kevin though.

Btw, the angel's name was Tyrus. ;)

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Agreed about Tessa.

Also agreed about Sam.

Sigh... poor Gadreel. I don't think he's going to make it past the finale, and I love him so... but yeah, I guess I can take solace in the fact that he'll MAYBE be a little redeemed? MAYBE?! Oh man... I'm going to be so sad.

Btw, the angel's name was Tyrus. ;)

Thanks! I got the first two letters right! That's impressive.

[crownroyal-51.livejournal.com]

The whole Tessa thing left me scratching my head because it didn't make any sense to me. I really don't understand the Tessa thing because she is a reaper so why would she even be brought into this. And an angel blade can kill a reaper? Did I miss something in the lore?

Other than that bit of confusion, I enjoyed the episode. I think Dean all jacked up on the Mark of Cain is kinda hot. He's out of control and dangerous. I fear for those who get in his way!

Sammy should have frisked him before they left the bunker. I had a feeling that Dean probably had the blade on him because this Dean isn't taking orders from anyone.

It's also nice to see Sam and Cas share some scenes together. I loved the shout out to "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade". I even yelled "duck" at the TV.

I have mixed emotions about Gadreel. I hate that he killed Kevin but I have sympathy that he's been duped by Metatron. After all, Cas fell for Metatron's tricks last season which got them into this mess. I also like the actor who plays Gadreel becauase he was on "Battlestar Galactica" and I loved his character on that show.

I've managed to stay spoiler free so I really wonder how they're going to leave us hanging this year. I keep thinking that Sam saying that he wouldn't have saved Dean during their fight mid-season will come into play. I think that Sam is going to end up saving Dean somehow and he'll have to make a difficult choice to do so. That's just my theory.

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Yeah, angel blades killing reapers started happening in S8... I think it's one of my main criticisms of Carver's showrunning - the fact that he doesn't prioritize the established rules and mythology of the universe and insists on bending it to be convenient to the point where he changes it. It's really annoying. When operating in a fantasy universe, you really have to stick to your rules, otherwise you lose the sense of realism that makes your fantasy compelling.

I've managed to stay spoiler free so I really wonder how they're going to leave us hanging this year. I keep thinking that Sam saying that he wouldn't have saved Dean during their fight mid-season will come into play. I think that Sam is going to end up saving Dean somehow and he'll have to make a difficult choice to do so. That's just my theory.

Mine as well. I'm also spoiler free, except for what we saw in the promo for next week. So, yeah... that's what I also think might happen. I guess we'll see!

And yes, I agree with you about everything else.

[percysowner.livejournal.com]

I'm even pickier than you. I'm trying to figure out how Tessa, who created her form while courting Dean in the world between life and death that she controlled happened to find a human vessel that looked EXACTLY LIKE the form she made up on the spur of the moment to get Dean to listen to her.

I've come to accept that this team is more than willing to throw continuity out the window, but can't they muster the interest to throw in a couple of lines of dialog to explain the changes?

[crownroyal-51.livejournal.com]

Good point! Ugh...I had when they don't adhere to the lore of the show. Makes me crazy.

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Oh believe me, that vessel business annoyed me too. Especially since it would be easy to explain away that she already HAD that vessel - I mean, the cupid showed up in a vessel in S5 pretty damn fast, which would suggest that the specialty orders of angels DO have vessels on hand.

[borgmama1of5.livejournal.com]

Based on fact that the reaper that slept with/killed Cas lit up like an angel when Dean killed her with the angel blade, I assume that we were supposed to figure out that reapers are a type of angel...and we're not supposed to think about it too hard.

I think we should get an episode where Death is pissed about what his reapers going rogue...or someone needs to write the fic!

I want to know how the angels overpowered Dean with the blade without any of them getting killed. I just don't see him particularly trying to restrain himself...

The part that really hit me and that I'm surprised not to see mentioned in the reviews I've read so far is Dean's speech to Tessa that even at his lowest he's never felt suicidal. Really--could have fooled me...season 4...5...7...8...

And the finale is being preempted in Chicago for baseball and not being broadcast until SATURDAY!!!

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's the thing, you bring Reapers into the mix too much, you have to figure out what the heck Death is up to at this point. Maybe he's the sole guy going around making sure everyone dies. :P

I figure Dean must still have some sense in him and he knew that he couldn't kill members of Cas' army and not have it be a bit of a bone of contention between him and Cas - not to mention that it wouldn't help his innocence plea. I think the "struggle" was more that he didn't want to be tied up.

The part that really hit me and that I'm surprised not to see mentioned in the reviews I've read so far is Dean's speech to Tessa that even at his lowest he's never felt suicidal. Really--could have fooled me...season 4...5...7...8...

Dude, even in S2, Dean chose to die with Sam in Croatoan rather than potentially live without him. You can't tell me that's not a form of being suicidal. He's basically saying that the ONLY reason he's not killing himself is because Sam's alive.

And the finale is being preempted in Chicago for baseball and not being broadcast until SATURDAY!!!

I know! I usually watch it on that channel too! Luckily, I can get it on a local station at 9pm. But GEEZ... maybe you can watch it on livestream? the positively_spn comm posts streaming links a half hour before the episode airs.

[percysowner.livejournal.com]

If you can't live stream the CW and Hulu post the episodes about 8 hours after they end, so they can be watched the next day.

[katsheswims.livejournal.com]

There were some things I liked, but the whole Tessa thing and the mess they made of reapers is really upsetting to me...

It's possible Gadreel is still alive! I think he will be for a little bit at any rate if just to tell Cas and Sam some critial bit of information before he dies if it was a mortal blow.

I think Dean may have woken Sam up with a loud sound because couldn't it be worse to wake someone with PTSD up by shaking/touching them and they grab/attack you? Or in Sam or Dean's case possible knife you (though I guess they're keeping guns under their pillow now--I think Dean was doing that too back in season 5 when Roy and Walt attacked them).

Regarding Metatron when you said "If Metatron actually wants to be the underdog-hero in this story that he's writing, shouldn't he WANT the smaller army?"--I think he only wanted to be the underdog up to a point to make himself sympathetic and now the time came where he wanted to use that feeling for his ultimate goal of getting all the angels to serve him. And it sure helped. Angels aren't that smart it seems...(most of them at any rate).

I thought Hanna might have been working for Metatron the whole time--I found her suspicious and thought she may have been the one to kill that angel last episode and got rid of Josiah to throw suspicion off herself, but I guess not...though of course she is now. And I'm totally with you about angels not understanding justice.

One episode left, and I'm not sure how it will end. But I'm pretty sure it will be a cliffhanger and that it won't be good for Sam and Dean.

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Agreed about Tessa and the Reapers.

I think Gadreel is still alive NOW... but... I don't think he's going to make it passed the finale. And, I guess that's alright, people will get their revenge for Kevin - but I'll be sad.

I think it would have been better for Dean to have just said Sam's name. I mean, they obviously know ways of waking each other up WITHOUT triggering a "I'm being attacked" response - so he's just being an ass.

Good point about Metatron wanting to be the underdog until THAT MOMENT and not after.. makes complete sense. THAT was Metatron's finale battle, I suppose, rather than what the ACTUAL final battle will be. Metatron now basically has the entire Heavenly Host serving him EXCEPT for Castiel - which, Metatron turned Castiel human anyway and knows that the borrowed grace will burn up... so, maybe he doesn't even care that Cas is still alive. After all, it's not like Metatron has any animosity towards Cas personally - I think he's just been using him as a pawn this entire time so that he could get to this point.

I thought Hanna might have been working for Metatron the whole time--I found her suspicious and thought she may have been the one to kill that angel last episode and got rid of Josiah to throw suspicion off herself, but I guess not...though of course she is now. And I'm totally with you about angels not understanding justice.

Same here. Ah well!

[ramblin_rosie]

Re: angels not understanding justice: I SO wanted Cas to bust out the "quality of mercy is not strained" speech from Merchant of Venice--but then, I've wanted someone to drop Donne's Holy Sonnet 17 on Death ever since his first appearance, so....

I have a sneaking suspicion that one thing that will happen next ep is that Sam will willingly say yes to Gadreel to keep him in one piece long enough to pass on his info to Cas. If so, and if Gadreel is a goner nonetheless, I'm hoping he'll be able to find a way to die without damaging Sam and at least get a modicum of redemption that way. (But then, this is me being a fan of the Tok'ra from SG-1!)

[percysowner.livejournal.com]

That occurred to me too. That Sam will really consent to Gadreel in order to save the world and eventually Dean.

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Oh man, yeah, that WOULD be cool... BUT... I personally don't think it'll happen. Could be wrong though. What do I know.

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Dude, you have mentioned too things that I am actually not well versed on. But I will take your word for it!

And yes, the scenario you mention WOULD be really cool. I'm doubtful it would happen, but if it did, I would think it cool!

[supernutjapan.livejournal.com]

Oh dear, I just loved your review.

I just finished my post, it's after midnight, but I'm going to try to make some kind of comment that makes some sort of sense.

This episode was so good I wrote and made way too much, the first sleepy Sam scene being one of these. Not that I'm that into your adorable Sammy ;) but that was such an awesome scene! Nice reflexes... better hair!?! and Sam's WTF face!

I'm totally with you regarding Gadreel, as I mentioned before. You are definitely not on your own on this. Well I'm not a Gadreel-girl: wouldn't go that far, but I really want him to be understood and missed when he dies. And I DON'T WANT DEAN TO BE THE ONE TO KILL HIM! PLEASE!!!

Anyway, I also mentioned in my own post that Dean may have been making up that sudden anger at Cas, since it doesn't really fit with his faith in Cas when Tessa talked with him. Or is that the whole problem? That he is kind of struggling between this unreasonable anger and his own rational mind?

I also thought he stuck Sam with Cas just to get them both out of the way for his interrogation. That lady was seriously asking for it. The interesting thing is, he didn't really act out of anger here. It was all very calculated, I thought.

I think they are trying to make a point that these angels think they are above humans. The way they acted toward Sam and Dean when Cas brought them in, the way they view Cas' love of humanity as somehow wrong (so why aren't they in hell with Lucifer is what I want to ask) etc. Josiah(is that his name?) when he didn't see an angel in Cas' eyes, I think was seeing Cas as a lover of humanity, not the same as the other angels. Am I rambling?

It was strange that they made reapers out to be some sort of angel. But all reapers are supposed to do is take the dead and send them off to heaven or hell right? So people are still dying... just not going to heaven. That is why she can't do her job. I wonder what Death is doing all this time - he must be going crazy too, because he still has to kill people (think of all those people in the ice cream shop... all suffering in the in between world... how awful.) Actually, if Death is as strong as God, HE should be the one going after Metatron so that Metatron doesn't mess things up... which reminds me of Season 6. Hmmm... I wonder if they can ask him for help again?

Poor Tessa...that death scene though was just beautiful. I really loved her and will miss her.

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

I'm totally with you regarding Gadreel, as I mentioned before. You are definitely not on your own on this. Well I'm not a Gadreel-girl: wouldn't go that far, but I really want him to be understood and missed when he dies. And I DON'T WANT DEAN TO BE THE ONE TO KILL HIM! PLEASE!!!

I think you and I are in for a world of disappointment when it comes to this.

Or is that the whole problem? That he is kind of struggling between this unreasonable anger and his own rational mind?

I'm thinking perhaps? I'm not sure he's even really conscious of the problem at the moment. Maybe it's more a matter of just always being angry - so, he's angry and distrustful of Cas, but then he's ALSO angry at people who bad mouth Cas... if that makes sense.

I think they are trying to make a point that these angels think they are above humans. The way they acted toward Sam and Dean when Cas brought them in, the way they view Cas' love of humanity as somehow wrong (so why aren't they in hell with Lucifer is what I want to ask) etc. Josiah(is that his name?) when he didn't see an angel in Cas' eyes, I think was seeing Cas as a lover of humanity, not the same as the other angels. Am I rambling?

Hm, interesting point! That actually circles back around to S4, when Castiel was continually removed from command because he liked Dean too much. It seems to be acceptable for angels to not like humanity, but unacceptable for them to act aggressively on that dislike... and that's what separates them from Lucifer. So, it's like they have a weird acceptable level of racism. as though, they're allowed to hate black people, but they aren't allowed to kill or beat them up just for being black.

Actually, if Death is as strong as God, HE should be the one going after Metatron so that Metatron doesn't mess things up... which reminds me of Season 6. Hmmm... I wonder if they can ask him for help again?

I don't think they're going to go in this direction, but man, you DO have to wonder where Death is in all of this.

[supernutjapan.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen or read any spoilers regarding next episode, but am getting the impression that something awful will happen. I'm just not going to think about it. I don't think I can handle thinking about it. That scene where Dean slashes Gadreel - I could not watch it straight through I was in such shock. But then I understand how that might happen in Dean's present state as well. I think next episode might be even worse. so, yeah. Not thinking about it. *shuffles off to review of Bedtime Stories*

[thursdaysisters.livejournal.com]

How does Castiel mount an army over several episodes and then lose it on one Skype call?????

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Ah, the eternal mysteries of life...

:P

[pushistyj-koshk.livejournal.com]

Cold's never stopped me. I mean, if my throat is giving me grief, I just have some Stroh 80 with a lovely cup of hot tea :)

On that note - get well soon!

I'm just about to watch the episode. I'll be sure to actually read this post and comment on it later.

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Yeah, a cold normally wouldn't stop me either, accept that this one basically gave me weird motion-y head-problems... so, I didn't want to add anything that messes with equilibrium.

On that note - get well soon!

Thanks! I'm nearly better. I just have a few annoying lingering after affects.

I'm just about to watch the episode. I'll be sure to actually read this post and comment on it later.

Enjoy!

[khek.livejournal.com]

Nice review!

I know what you mean about Gadreel and Kevin and forgiveness. Personally, it seems like almost everyone that's friends with Sam and Dean have killed someone important to them, and they eventually just sweep it under the rug and the fandom loves them. Meg killed Jo and Ellen...and yet the fandom came to love her. Crowley killed Sarah Blake and all those innocent victims from season one, (not to mention being the master manipulator behind the scenes for )...and the fandom seems to think he's the bees knees. Even Castiel killed a bunch of (unnamed) people, and that's fine. So as far as I can tell, if Gadreel sticks around long enough, people will forget Kevin. (*sniff*)

I have flashbacks to the colt in season one when Dean said he left the first blade behind, and I'm surprised that Sam didn't too! Dean has NEVER left an important weapon behind. (and when he did, it got stolen. So...)

Personally, I'm hoping that Tessa threw herself on the blade because she is a Reaper, so it doesn't really kill her. Hey, angel-offshoot or not, she works for Death, so until he shows up and gives Dean hell for it, she's alive (or undead) in my book!

I want to see Death come back and deal with Metatron. That was pretty much what I came out of this episode thinking!

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

It's so true. Okay, people can't get mad at me for loving Gadreel even though he killed Kevin. That being said, I don't think Gadreel is going to live for very much longer. The Winchester keep bringing up Kevin's murder too much for them not to extract revenge as soon as Gadreel has outlived his usefulness to them.

Personally, I'm hoping that Tessa threw herself on the blade because she is a Reaper, so it doesn't really kill her. Hey, angel-offshoot or not, she works for Death, so until he shows up and gives Dean hell for it, she's alive (or undead) in my book!

It's true! The show is changing the mythology so much that at this point, I figure we can make up our own extended rules. So, Tessa just went back into invisible mode and is chillin' with Death, eating pickle chips and debating whether or not it's worth it to him to get involved.

I want to see Death come back and deal with Metatron. That was pretty much what I came out of this episode thinking!

This is kind of another mistake I think they made in using Tessa. It reminded us all that Death is out there somewhere NOT doing anything even though, apparently, his reapers are in trouble.

[shadowsong26.livejournal.com]

This episode was...I don't know. A lot of it I liked, but pretty much everything with Tessa I didn't. All the lore changes you mentioned aside, I really didn't like that she was brought back just to die, or the shift in her character. I mean, given the Veil situation (and I am glad it got mentioned again, even under circumstances I'm less than thrilled about), it makes sense. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Okay, negatives out of the way, pretty much everything else I enjoyed. The main highlight was the seemingly endless variety of '1000% done with your shit, Metatron' faces Gadreel managed to pull out.

I'm pretty sure the little girl angel's parents are either vessels themselves or dead. Maybe one of each, depending on if one or both of her parents are vessel lines. It was interesting that this episode had a couple plot points/whatever that dealt with vessels. Even if it wasn't for protecting/doing anything with them, it was still nice to see them acknowledged. Between her and the way they tracked Josiah...

Agents Spears and Aguilera was brilliant. All the stuff with Cas this episode was pretty brilliant, honestly.

Metatron being a total dork was kind of funny, to be fair. And Gadreel playing off him was amazing and wonderful and you're right that he acts a lot like s4 Cas, though I don't think I'd've noticed if it wasn't pointed out.

I think someone else in the comments mentioned it, but I'm pretty sure that the narrative Metatron is crafting does require him to start with a small army then make it large, which is why he's courting Bowling Angel.

Random tangent--my brain went in a weird 'Metatron-in-Claire-Novak' direction when he offered to get a new face. Which is weird and horrible and wrong and would go very bad very quickly but...part of me thinks it would be interesting, and raise old plot points that I'd like to see revisited. Especially when this episode at least vaguely dealt with vessels.

I don't think that Metatron is trying to stop the faction fighting, so much as get it under control/all under his banner. Which probably was how Michael kept things stable in Heaven before the aborted apocalypse? IDK.

To add to your positivity about Fiddler, I was very pleased that the musical that was actually playing was Jesus Christ Superstar, which I'm sure has Meaning, but I love that show so it made me happy.

Totally with you on adoring Gadreel still, BTW.

I have to admit, I was expecting something totally different and implausible behind that door, based on the fairly widespread theory that Metatron has Gabriel as his prisoner that started cropping up after Meta Fiction that I am particularly attached to...but what they did find was much more appropriate/sense-making/let's-not-add-more-plots-right-now so it worked, even if the part of me that adores Gabriel is still disappointed lol I'm a dork.

That 'I don't see an angel in your eyes' was definitely cool and something to think about.

You have a point about Dean putting the dick in dictator but, with regard to a regular angel blade working on Metatron, I'm not sure it would. Metatron has seriously leveled up, in that even holy fire can't contain him anymore, so I'm not sure an angel blade would work. Maybe an archangel blade, since those seem to be different (though we get that bit of information from Kali, rather than a source with more direct angelic knowledge), but even then, holy fire contained Gabriel, so...the First Blade may actually be necessary there.

Also, I finally started to buy Metatron as a clever villain here. His PR plan with the suicide bombers to win support away from Castiel, horrible as it was to watch, was kind of brilliant, since Cas has gone off the rails enough in the past that it's believable and, with a few well-timed revelations...

I was SO PLEASED when Gadreel showed up and even Sam seemed willing to at least hear him out and then Dean did something horrible and actually kind of expected but it made me sad. Oh, well, even if no one else cares, you and I will be sad if/when he dies, at least? Poor Gadreel...if only he'd found sympathy from someone who knew everything about him and wasn't Metatron...

Basically, except for everything directly involving Tessa, I liked this episode. We'll see how next week goes...

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Random tangent--my brain went in a weird 'Metatron-in-Claire-Novak' direction when he offered to get a new face. Which is weird and horrible and wrong and would go very bad very quickly but...part of me thinks it would be interesting, and raise old plot points that I'd like to see revisited. Especially when this episode at least vaguely dealt with vessels.

Oh man, that's super disturbing.

I don't think that Metatron is trying to stop the faction fighting, so much as get it under control/all under his banner. Which probably was how Michael kept things stable in Heaven before the aborted apocalypse? IDK.

Yes. Exactly. I obviously didn't word whatever I said about this right. Because that is what I meant.

I have to admit, I was expecting something totally different and implausible behind that door, based on the fairly widespread theory that Metatron has Gabriel as his prisoner that started cropping up after Meta Fiction that I am particularly attached to..

Interesting! I had none of these thoughts... I just thought it'd be some sort of trap for Cas that would separate him from Sam or something...

but, with regard to a regular angel blade working on Metatron, I'm not sure it would. Metatron has seriously leveled up, in that even holy fire can't contain him anymore, so I'm not sure an angel blade would work.

Oh, good point. I didn't even think of that.

Poor Gadreel...if only he'd found sympathy from someone who knew everything about him and wasn't Metatron...

Yeah, I feel like this whole season has been one giant lesson in "this is why you need to tell people things"... because I feel if Gadreel had just been completely honest with Dean from the jump, that all this could have been avoided. Well, "all this" except Sam being unwillingly possessed by an angel.

Basically, except for everything directly involving Tessa, I liked this episode. We'll see how next week goes...

Same!

[wedge antilles (from livejournal.com)]

The reaper lore on Supernatural has always been a little messy.

I'm going to assume Tessa's appearance to Dean is based on the real girl she saw at the hospital and then decided to hop in her body because before that she was a creepy ghost reaper, which is closer to the creepy zombie reaper we got in Faith. Also why isn't everyone immortal if the reapers can't do their job, like they were previously or if not immortal at least being looked after by reapers?

I'm a little upset that the show never even acknowledged that reapers are possessing people now. Also being able to kill death is a tad oxymoronic. It's not like supernatural to be this uncertain with their lore.

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Yeah exactly! It really pisses me off. The thing is before S8, they WERE certain with their repear lore. 1)You can't see reapers unless you are dead or dying or unless that reaper is Death himself, 2)you can't kill reapers.

It's really driving me nuts that Carver doesn't pay attention to the shows lore. What drives me more nuts about this particular episode is that it didn't necessarily HAVE to be Tessa, it didn't HAVE to be a reaper. It could have just been any other angel who was TIRED of it all. It's not like there are no other suicidal angels. I get that they were trying to make her death more impactful by having her be someone with "a history" with Dean, but was that even really necessary? Did it matter? Are we not capable of emphasizing with someone we just met? Seriously, why bring reapers into this and mess up the already messed up reaper lore EVEN MORE.

Ugh, it pisses me off so much. This is like... the first thing in the run of this show where I see a consistent writing mistake being made by the writing team: even fantasy universes have "laws of physics" that have to be obeyed, once you start disobeying those, you destroy your own credibility.

*takes deep breath*
*breathes out slowly*

Other than that, of course, I found the episode to be enjoyable.