SPN 7.23 - Survival of the Fittest
I really liked the season finale!
I really liked the ending. For the first time in a long time, SPN really scared me - like in that raises the hair on your arms kind of way. My initial reaction was nonono, this is BAD, but that's also why it's so good. I'm really intrigued by the concept of Dean and Cas being stuck in Purgatory and how they're going to make their way out. It's pretty great.
The ep on the whole was pretty good too. I was happy with how they killed Dick. After the lackluster way that the Eve SL was resolved, and even with the fact that they couldn't kill the devil, I was really satisfied with how they defeated the season's Big Bad. It seemed sufficiently difficult and the way they did it was pretty cool too - gross, but a great scene, and a cool callback to the season credits (with Dick exploding everywhere). So that was good.
As for Bobby having to be put down...well, we all saw this coming. I guess what I'm wondering now is what the point of him coming back as a ghost at all was. I mean, after everything the boys have been through, did they really need to see Bobby go down as a ghost, too? This is always what I was afraid of. I mean, it makes sense that, since he was a ghost, he wouldn't be able to stay that way indefinitely. But why make him a ghost at all? I don't know, and I'm determined to figure this out at some point over hiatus.
I liked the Cas storyline, too. In a way, this ep gave me a lot of closure about his arc this entire season. It's always been about redemption. And he had to be absent for all those episodes for that reason. Having amnesia, not remembering who he was - that was part of his redemption. And it gave time for the boys, Dean especially, to begin to forgive him; for their anger to fade, for rationalization to kick in, to miss him.
He came back just in time to save Sam. And to the extent that Cas's worst transgression was what he did to Sam - well. He certainly redeemed himself for that one. He's still suffering the effects of what he did, which tells me that his redemption arc isn't over. As it shouldn't be.
The fact is that Cas DID open Purgatory and he did unleash the leviathans, which was the big problem this year. Dean yelling at Cas - was harsh, I admit, and I hated it. But I do understand where he was coming from. It is Cas's mess.
I sort of liked the explanation that he gave Dean later, that he can't fight because he thinks he ruins everything he touches. Dean saying that he feels that way about himself too was great - and did you see Cas's smile when he said it sounded like Dean was forgiving him? Dean has started to. He's realized that Cas was doing what he had to do, and Cas helping Sam went a long way with Dean too.
So that was a great moment between them and gives me hope for their future. I don't think Cas's forgiveness or redemption should be an easy thing by any means. At the end of last season, there was so much hurt, anger, and betrayal, and all of his relationships were damaged or destroyed. It shouldn't be so easy to get it all back. But I like that they're on the path to doing so, and I like how far they've come.
Also, it was fantastic to see Baby back! Although I was shocked that they let Meg drive her, lol.
So is Crowley the one with all the power now? It would appear so, which is slightly disconcerting, but I'm intrigued. There were a lot of supporting characters in this ep which I think was great - it makes the story fuller, more well-rounded, and I definitely enjoyed that.
The ending was definitely scary - Sam and Dean have only ever ended a season apart back when Dean was in Hell, which is similar to this, too. So I have no idea how Dean and Cas are going to get out, or how Sam's going to deal with the remaining leviathan threat, or WHAT Crowley is going to get up to. But I am VERY interested to find out!
I do still feel like the season was disjointed, in the sense that some episodes were great standalones but I didn't really understand or enjoy a season-long arc. But it wasn't terrible, and the finale has gone a long way in making me anticipate next year.
Hiatus, here we come!
I really liked the ending. For the first time in a long time, SPN really scared me - like in that raises the hair on your arms kind of way. My initial reaction was nonono, this is BAD, but that's also why it's so good. I'm really intrigued by the concept of Dean and Cas being stuck in Purgatory and how they're going to make their way out. It's pretty great.
The ep on the whole was pretty good too. I was happy with how they killed Dick. After the lackluster way that the Eve SL was resolved, and even with the fact that they couldn't kill the devil, I was really satisfied with how they defeated the season's Big Bad. It seemed sufficiently difficult and the way they did it was pretty cool too - gross, but a great scene, and a cool callback to the season credits (with Dick exploding everywhere). So that was good.
As for Bobby having to be put down...well, we all saw this coming. I guess what I'm wondering now is what the point of him coming back as a ghost at all was. I mean, after everything the boys have been through, did they really need to see Bobby go down as a ghost, too? This is always what I was afraid of. I mean, it makes sense that, since he was a ghost, he wouldn't be able to stay that way indefinitely. But why make him a ghost at all? I don't know, and I'm determined to figure this out at some point over hiatus.
I liked the Cas storyline, too. In a way, this ep gave me a lot of closure about his arc this entire season. It's always been about redemption. And he had to be absent for all those episodes for that reason. Having amnesia, not remembering who he was - that was part of his redemption. And it gave time for the boys, Dean especially, to begin to forgive him; for their anger to fade, for rationalization to kick in, to miss him.
He came back just in time to save Sam. And to the extent that Cas's worst transgression was what he did to Sam - well. He certainly redeemed himself for that one. He's still suffering the effects of what he did, which tells me that his redemption arc isn't over. As it shouldn't be.
The fact is that Cas DID open Purgatory and he did unleash the leviathans, which was the big problem this year. Dean yelling at Cas - was harsh, I admit, and I hated it. But I do understand where he was coming from. It is Cas's mess.
I sort of liked the explanation that he gave Dean later, that he can't fight because he thinks he ruins everything he touches. Dean saying that he feels that way about himself too was great - and did you see Cas's smile when he said it sounded like Dean was forgiving him? Dean has started to. He's realized that Cas was doing what he had to do, and Cas helping Sam went a long way with Dean too.
So that was a great moment between them and gives me hope for their future. I don't think Cas's forgiveness or redemption should be an easy thing by any means. At the end of last season, there was so much hurt, anger, and betrayal, and all of his relationships were damaged or destroyed. It shouldn't be so easy to get it all back. But I like that they're on the path to doing so, and I like how far they've come.
Also, it was fantastic to see Baby back! Although I was shocked that they let Meg drive her, lol.
So is Crowley the one with all the power now? It would appear so, which is slightly disconcerting, but I'm intrigued. There were a lot of supporting characters in this ep which I think was great - it makes the story fuller, more well-rounded, and I definitely enjoyed that.
The ending was definitely scary - Sam and Dean have only ever ended a season apart back when Dean was in Hell, which is similar to this, too. So I have no idea how Dean and Cas are going to get out, or how Sam's going to deal with the remaining leviathan threat, or WHAT Crowley is going to get up to. But I am VERY interested to find out!
I do still feel like the season was disjointed, in the sense that some episodes were great standalones but I didn't really understand or enjoy a season-long arc. But it wasn't terrible, and the finale has gone a long way in making me anticipate next year.
Hiatus, here we come!