Supernatural, “Dark Dynasty,” was written by the team of Eugenie Ross-Leming and Brad Buckner and was directed by Robert Singer. As is typical with these writers, some of the dialogue was a little flat and there were some continuity glitches. This is nicely balanced by Singer’s always masterful direction. Truly, I was hoping we’d get him for the finale. However, Singer ensured that there were some terrific performances in the episode. I’m sure that the loss of Charlie – and therefore, Felicia Day – made emotions run high anyway.
I had the pleasure of speaking at the Celebration of Supernatural in Chicago at DuPaul University this weekend at which Robbie Thompson was the keynote speaker. Thompson had some interesting comments about some of the things that went into writing this episode. Naturally, it came as a complete and unwanted shock to learn that Charlie was being killed off in the episode. He fought hard for her, but ultimately, that call lay with Jeremy Carver. For the record, Thompson also fought against killing Bobby – though not as hard as that was when he’d just joined the writers’ room.
Thompson also mentioned that when he was writing “Book of the Damned” in which the Styne’s are introduced, he was told to change the name of the character to Styne because they were going to do something really interesting with the character. Now, the writing lags behind production, but it doesn’t lag behind itself, so you can see this development playing out in real time. One of my pet peeves about the show in recent seasons is the pacing of the story arcs – and the mythology arc in particular. It seems the first half moves along well and is tightly plotted and paced until the December hiatus. Come the second half of the season, we get a lot of monster-of-the-week episodes with little bits of overall mytharc sprinkled in in the opening or closing scenes in the Impala. Then, in the last three episodes, we suddenly go in an all new direction and have about 8 to 10 episodes worth of story crammed into three. It would seem that this season is going to be no different. The Stynes are introduced in 10.18, but even their mythology isn’t set until the writing of 10.21! That said, I did sit up and say “COOL!” when Eldon (David Hoflin) let the cat out of the bag that the brothers were dealing with the Frankensteins.
As cool as the Frankensteins are, I was immediately transported back to “Time Is on My Side” and Doc Benton, especially when he brought out the melon-baller to take out Eileen’s (Haigan Day) eyes. Every time I went to say or write “Dark Dynasty,” I wanted to say “Duck Dynasty.” Once we met the crazy southern family at the heart of the episode, it became apparent that we were supposed to be making that connection!
At the bunker, Dean (Jensen Ackles) is becoming suspicious of Sam (Jared Padalecki) – and with good reason. He utterly sucks at sneaking around. What happened to the guy who kept a demon girlfriend and blood addiction a secret? For once, Dean isn’t keeping secrets. In fact, I don’t think we’ve ever seen him this open about himself when he tells Sam that he’s having “dark thoughts, creepy visions, and violent urges – same old, same old.” Dean’s happy he has a murder to focus on.
Sam sneaks out to meet Charlie at the side of the road. After finding out that Rowena needs help de-coding the codex to de-code the Book of the Damned, Sam naturally turns to Charlie. Nadia was apparently a very selfish witch who would code spells to keep their secrets for herself. I loved her telling him she could have met him at the “Death Star.” Charlie and later Cas (Misha Collins) tell Sam what a colossally bad idea it is to lie to Dean. Cas reminds Sam that lying to Dean never ends well, and Charlie slaps Cas’ shoulder, saying “that’s what I said!” Even Rowena (Ruth Connell) knows it’s stupid – the first rule is not to tell your brother!
Rowena is not happy to become Charlie’s assistant, but I did enjoy Sam telling Rowena that she was Charlie’s assistant and not vice versa. Rowena is happy to meet Cas. I loved her asking him if he was a witch or a nerd and then her reaction to his answer. One thing that bothers me about many of the writers is inattention to canon. In this instance, Rowena says Cas is being quite literal about wanting rules to be able to referee. This might have been true a few seasons ago, but after Metatron’s downloading all the literature, Cas is supposed to get these nuances now.
Crowley (Mark Sheppard) is still actively keeping tabs on his mother – in between playing darts with a live board. I loved the guy looking down at his own chest and remarking, “nice grouping!” Crowley is not happy they’ve misplaced her, but he does seem to be getting back to his old self. He then decides to question Olivette to get information to use against Rowena. It’s hilarious watching Crowley have a conversation with a hamster. He discovers that Rowena had a demon lover, but then he discovers something else in addition that isn’t translated for the audience. Whatever he learns, Crowley dispatches a demon to bring “this” person to him.
I really liked the scene between Rowena and Charlie in which Rowena tells Charlie that they are actually very much alike. Charlie determines that she has to think like Nadia in order to break the code so asks Rowena to tell her more about her. Rowena tells her that she was a hermit and made as a hatter – she made it her life mission to cure curses. There is a nice clue hidden in this exchange. Rowena tells them that in order to break a curse, you must inflict another. This sets us up nicely for the finale. Will Dean find himself the center of a new curse in order to be free of the Mark? Or will someone else have to be cursed with some other horror to free Dean? Will Dean be so angry that he lets Sam sacrifice himself?
Rowena also says that Nadia was ahead of her time – like Charlie and herself. I loved how stunned Charlie was as Rowena rattles off all their similarities. Charlie still denies it, but Rowena insists that the line between good and evil is quite porous. Unlike Charlie, however, Rowena draws the line at blind devotion – or even the devotion a mother owes a son as we’ve seen. Charlie tells her that San and Dean are like her brothers and she loves them. Rowena insists that her steadfast loyalty will be her undoing – and she’s right.
I loved Dean picking up Sam’s phone at the bunker when he sees it’s Cas calling. Cas awkwardly tells him that he’s calling for no reason and that the call is pointless! Cas is as bad a liar as he ever was, but then Sam isn’t much better when he denies having talked to Cas for a while. Sam tries to distract Dean by sending him for pizza. Ackles does a good job showing Dean’s mounting suspicions as the episode progresses.
It’s while out for pizza that Dean is set upon by two of the Stynes. It takes shooting and stabbing to kill one and he takes Eldon prisoner. Dean is clearly enjoying the possibility of torturing Eldon for information, but he’s pretty chatty without it. I’m a little surprised that Sam wouldn’t be against Dean torturing Eldon as it must feed into the Mark. This is where Dean learns that they are the Frankensteins, and it was Mary Shelley’s novel that drove them underground and to change their name.
We’ve already seen that the head of the family is Monroe (Markus Flanagan) and that he has little real affection for his “sons” and “nephews.” Eldon tells Dean that they are like Spartans. They are willing to die for their cause and they are expendable – if one dies, another takes his place. There’s a nice distinction drawn between the Winchester family business – hunting things and saving people and the Stynes’ – using fear to drive profits. The lack of familial connection also nicely dovetails with Charlie’s devotion and how the brothers are continually willing to sacrifice themselves for each other.
Sam’s phone rings in the middle of the interrogation and that sends Dean’s suspicions into overdrive. Eldon tells Dean that all the men have some enhancement. It’s clearly a misogynistic family as well – what about the women? When Dean asks about the head of the family, Eldon says they are underground, so there have to be some secrets, to which Dean replies, “I’m swell at uncovering secrets.” It’s while Sam is out of the room that Dean learns the book cannot be destroyed. However, Eldon also tells Dean that if he gives up the book, they could “have a conversation.” Is Eldon offering to cure Dean of the Mark using the spell? Or maybe he’s offering to replace the offending arm?
Cas has called because tensions have peaked. I loved Dean simply showing up behind Sam and startling him – it reminded me of the Demon-Dean/Sam fight from earlier in the season. Dean is clearly about to ask Sam about the book when they hear a crash and run back to the dungeon. I loved the both skidding to a halt in the doorway – though I felt the heavy beat of the music to every subsequent closer view was a bit heavy handed. They discover that Styne has ripped off his own arm! Dean’s “Oh my God, he ripped it off” is perfect. The blood flowing out of the hanging arm is gruesomely wonderful as well.
While Cas is chaining Rowena up, Charlie takes off to the Blackbird Motel. This really made no sense – other than setting up Charlie’s death which will, in turn, push Dean over the edge for revenge. It should have been enough that Cas chained Rowena up in another room. I did really like their exchange as Rowen reveals to Cas that she is Crowley’s mother – there’s another family connection! Collins is particularly good in this scene.
Dean tracks Eldon, but the trail runs cold, so he comes back to the bunker. Sam keeps lying to Dean and Dean knows it. When Sam’s phone rings again, Dean warns him not to pick it up – but Sam does and learns Charlie is missing. Dean is livid – as we knew he would be. Charlie calls. She’s cracked the code, but Styne is at the door. There’s no way they can get to her in time. Dean and Sam both tell her to give Styne whatever he wants. It’s unlikely that would have saved her anyway, but she tells Dean she can’t – the unspoken part is that she feels she has to try to save Dean. Day is excellent in this scene. Charlie goes out in a blaze of glory – or at least she goes down fighting which is also the Winchester way.
Sam tells Dean in the car that Charlie loves him – it’s why she tells Dean that she can’t give Eldon what he wants. Sam also tells Dean that he and Cas also love him. We all know that this is only going to increase Dean’s own guilt over Charlie’s death. The brothers burst into the hotel, and in another nicely parallel scene, skid to a halt at the bathroom door. This scene nicely contrasts with the last – but this gruesome scene affects them both quite differently. Dean speaks only one word – “Charlie” – as they both look at her bloody corpse in the bathtub.
This episode sets us up to end the season with yet another major rift between the brothers due to them lying to each other again. This felt like Charlie died just to balance Kevin’s death and to act as the catalyst for Dean letting himself go over the edge again. While there were some good performances – most notably Collins and Day – this episode felt very much like been there, done that. What did you think of the episode? Are you sorry to see Charlie go? Was this a fitting end for her? Can we see it as a good thing that she went out fighting for good rather than letting herself go further and further into the grey area? It would seem that the older you get in this job, the more willing to do evil for a good cause you become. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
About the Author - Lisa Macklem
I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Forever, Defiance, Bitten, Glee, and a few others! Highlights of this past year include covering San Diego Comic Con as press and a set visit to Bitten. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.
