As if Sam and Dean haven’t said farewell to enough of their loved ones, the Winchester duo now have another reason to say ”Gee, our lives suck.”
(First, stop reading here if you haven’t seen last night’s episode of Supernatural. Second, WHY haven’t you seen last night’s episode of Supernatural?!?)
Last week, we learned via annoying superfan Becky that Bella (circa season 3) didn’t really give The Colt back to super-demon Lilith. Instead, she handed it over to another demon, Crowley. The path was wide open for the boys to get the only gun that could possibly kill Lucifer (ahem..so they thought).
Oddly enough, the impending battle for The Colt was a big overture for a little show. In the first 10 minutes of the show, Castiel tracks down Crowley, the boys storm his mansion (P.S. – I gotta get into the demon business) with help from old pal Jo, obtain the gun with Crowley’s blessing, and are even gifted with extra ammo. I expected a little more fight (especially since that gun was big potatoes for a long time), but as Crowley reveals, he wants Lucifer to be killed because his success in taking over the world results in his death – and the death of other demon peons. He tells the boys that Lucifer’s set up in Carthage, Missouri, and gives Dean one more piece of advice: ”Don’t miss.”
We cut to Bobby’s house, where the team (brothers Winchester, Bobby, Castiel and mother-daughter hunter duo Ellen and Jo) are assembling to ring in their last day on Earth with a little cantina music and booze. There, Sam and Dean have some brother time where they chat about (surprise) Dean not wanting Sam to come to the big fight, for fear that Lucifer might get Sam to say yes to being his vessel. Sam rebuffs, ”If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it together.” You tell him, Sammy.
In the kitchen, Dean puts the moves on Jo (I’m guessing the little sister-big brother vibe I picked up from these two in season 2 was wrong). Jo rejects his advances (stupid girl!), claiming she wants to go out of this world ”with a little thing I called self-respect.” Before the evening comes to a close, Bobby insists on taking a family portrait, claiming it’s tradition before a big hunt.
As they arrive in the town, where apparently no major cell phone carriers survive the devil’s coming, Castiel spots reapers – a lot of them. History tells me that a large group of men in suits waiting for your arrival is never a good thing. But brave Cas sets off on a solo search for Lucifer and finds him. The Castiel-meets-Lucifer scene that the show has been building to all season plays out in a brilliant exchange. Lucifer attempts to turn the tables, telling the angel (who is trapped in a ring of holy oil fire) that if he dies, Castiel will become heaven’s ”new public enemy No. 1.” Cas holds his ground, saying he will protect Sam to the death. Lucifer’s ability to negotiate and gain sympathy has easily been one of the strongest points of this season so far.
Back on the streets, demon Meg (portrayed poorly by Rachel Miner) and her band of hellhounds meet up with the rest of the gang (sans Bobby). The gang wages an attack, but ends up fleeing to a hardware store when it’s clear they’re overpowered. In the midst of fleeing, Dean gets tackled by a hound, but Jo goes back to help him. Her good deed ends up getting her clawed. By the time they make it to safety, it’s clear she won’t make it to the end of the episode.
Dean radios Bobby, who’s waiting with words of encouragement. Their conversation pulls at the heartstrings as Bobby once again plays pseudo-dad, telling Dean that he has to think straight even as his friend lies dying. But Bobby, ever the fountain of information, tells Dean that Lucifer is likely in town for a big ritual that will raise Death. Yes, that’s Death with a capital ‘D.’ THE Death.
The gangs agree they must stop it, but with Jo as dead weight, they know they can’t go on together. Jo volunteers to stay back, lure the hounds into the store and blow them up while the rest get away. ”It’s probably the last chance you’ll get to treat me like an adult,” she tells her mom. ”You might wanna take it.” The boys get to making the bomb and exchange tearful farewells with Jo, but not before Ellen announces she’s staying back too.
It was difficult to see the two remaining non-evil women on Supernatural go out, but at least they went out with a (literal) bang. The awesomely directed and acted scene was the highlight of the season so far.
At the ritual site, Lucifer and his band of townie demons are hard at work raising Death. Sam and Dean charge in, The Colt in hand. Sam acts as the distraction while Dean sneaks up behind. He doesn’t miss his shot, but not that it matters. The bullet merely knocks out Lucifer, he rises and pulls a Wolverine, healing the wound instantly. Turns out the Devil is one of the five things in existence that The Colt can’t kill, which begs the question: What are the other four?
He throws Dean against a tree, knocking him unconscious. During his alone time with Sam, he reiterates their deeper connections. ”He (Lucifer’s brother Michael) beat me down all because I was different, had a mind of my own,” his evilness says.
Back in the oily ring of fire, Castiel escapes his angel prison by using Meg as a bridge. Awesome. After escaping, he meets up with Sam and Dean. He gets there just in time to see the ritual complete. Death has arrived.
The fall finale ends back at Bobby’s house, where he and the brothers gather to throw the ‘family photo’ in the fire, bringing the episode to a symbolic – albeit abrupt – end.
Supernatural returns January 21 with new episodes.
So, there you have it. Now you go, what did YOU think of Supernatural’s fall finale?
Comments (1-15) of 67 Add your comment
Loved it!! I was so worried that Cas was going to be one them to die. he was a great addition to the show. Jensen has once again proven what a good actor he is turning out to be. Can’t wait for Jan!
Great recap and even better ep! So much goodness in this ep. I’ve never had a problem with Jo, and the heart breaking goodbye scene between Dean and Jo that was monderfully done without a single word hit me like a sledgehammer. I also enjoyed the subtle and understated performances of MP and MS as Lucifer and Crowley as well. Bumming that Jan cannot come fast enough….
Great recap!!!
The episode was sooo good! I can’t believe we have to wait 2 months for new episodes. One thing though. If Crowley wanted Sam and Dean to kill Lucifer with the Colt, why didn’t he go find them and give ‘em the damn thing?
That because Crowley did not really want Lucifer dead both of them know that the colt was useless against Lucifer. So it was a setup to get to Sam at least that how I read it.
My guess i that he figured they would find him, and wanted to keep on doing his business til then.
I loved this episode. I’ve enjoyed the comedic relief of the last few episodes, but this one really advanced the plot again and was really well done. And I agree, how stupid did Jo have to be to say no to Jensen?? Dummy.
Yeah I was thinking as she lay there holding her guts in “Hmm…should have jumped Dean when I had the chance!”
I KNOW!! But at least she had her self respect as a small band aid.
Totally Agree! Who in their right mind would say no to Dean?
See, I always knew Dean and Jo had more of a brother-sister thing going on, even back in season two. in season two “Born Under a Bad Sign,” demon-possessed Sam told Jo that that was how Dean felt towards her, and when she had her conversation with Dean, she said she knew that demons lied but asked if they ever told the truth. He said yes, especially if they knew it would screw with someone. And then in last season, “It’s a Terrible Life,” the memories implanted in Dean’s mind were that Ellen was his mom and Jo was his sister.
I think she realized that he wouldn’t really have feelings for her that were more than the brotherly vibe and wanted to keep her self-respect because she knew that if she did hook up with him, it would only be because it was a “this is our last night on earth” scenario.
This was the best episode of the season. I’m sure some fans are upset that more women are dead and the misogyny debates will come up again, but I think they couldn’t have found a more empowering story for Jo and Ellen. Yes, women die on the show, but so do men. To have them go out fighting for the greater good and remaining to tough and brave together was a testament to how amazingly strong they were. Lucifer continues to be a fantastic character and I hope we see more of him soon.
I got chills several times while watching this episode. The look on all of their faces when Bobby took their picture for their ‘last night on earth’, the sight of all the reapers, the invisible hell hounds, Lucifer trapping Castiel in the ring of fire, the angel of death rising, Jo’s picture melting in the fire. Ellen and Jo truly were the stars of this amazing episode, though it was pretty awesome when Castiel used Meg to break the circle. I’m sad that Ellen and Jo are gone, but you knew that Ellen wasn’t going to let her little girl go w/o her, and she ended up having to push the button. I’m just wondering what will happen next. If the boys thought they were defeated before, now they’re really screwed. It never even occurred to me that Lucifer would try to bring forth the angel of death. I wasn’t sure that particular angel existed in their mythology. It seems every angel they come across brings death.
I really liked Crowley hope to see him again! Loved Cas walking over Meg to wisk the boys to safety. We did a live recap last night on our site if you want to say hello at Mile High Horrors.
I think it’s an even bet that we’ll see more of Crowley (Mark Sheppard) before the end… perhaps in a battle against Castiel…
I was a little disappointed. I feel like this season wasn’t up to par like the last seasons. Jo and Ellen made that episode. I believe that without those tearful goodbyes, it would have sucked.
Ps. I’m I the only one who was feeling sorry for death when he started talking about how bad his brother treated him?
Curse those douchebag angels!
Death? That was Lucifer talking. And no, I didn’t feel sorry for the A-Hole.
Agreed, that’s Lucy’s m.o. the charming prince of lies…. that’s how he got his current vessel and tried the same approach on Castiel and Sam, of course….
Loved last night’s episode and love that Popwatch did a recap. Hope to see more of these in the future!
Amazing episode! I was so sad to see Jo and Ellen go out, but they were really heroic!! And thanks for actually recapping Supernatural- it is such an underrated show so thanks for supporting it’s awesomeness
I don’t really watch the show but I support you Sandra! lol
All the more reason to start watching!
I loved this episode, but I was very sad to see Jo and Ellen die. I think it was very smart to have them go together, it was true to character. My only complaint was how abruptly it ended! I was expecting at least one more scene after burning the picture. Also I thought the whole point of the picture was to remember those who were lost in the big fight…so why burn it?? I hate that we have so wait for long for a new episode, but I’m glad this episode lived up to all my expectations!
yeah when the photo was burnt I was kinda upset but I realized that it was for the best for the brothers to leave it and not get attached to them,
I think there were two reasons for burning the picture. 1) Warriors who die in battle often have their bodies burned (Remember when Sam and Dean burned their father’s body and their brother’s?), and 2) it would’ve been too painful to look at that picture again. I think everyone thought better of taking the picture as soon as Castiel made that comment and their expressions all changed. I also thought it was kind of eerie and symbolic. Ellen and Jo died in a building that was blown up and then they showed a picture of everyone burning slowly.
I thought it was one of the best episodes. It was funny, sad, and emotionally draining. The Ellen/Jo scene was so amazingly well-written. I cannot wait till the show returns (wish it was sooner).
I guess the series has to wind down sometime right?
Gosh before I had a little sympathy for Lucifer but now i really hate his guts…
I guess losing friends is practically the story line .
AND i cried all through the episode , Jo and Ellen acted sooo well, I can’t get it out of my head, beautiful mother daughter scene