Supernatural finished the season with two episodes back to back. “Who We Are” was written by Robert Berens and directed by John F Showalter. “All Along the Watchtower” was written by Andrew Dabb and directed by Bob Singer, having both showrunners on board certainly helps to set up for next season. There were a number of things about these episodes that I wasn’t keen on, even while there were also some nice fan service moments.
“Who We Are” begins with Dean (Jensen Ackles), Sam (Jared Padalecki), and Lady Bevell (Elizabeth Blackmore) trying to escape from the Bunker while Mary (Samantha Smith) continues her killing spree of hunters – and Jody Mills (Kim Rhodes) is on her list. Bevell convinces the brothers not to kill her because she’s the only one who can reverse Mary’s programming. The only way out of the Bunker is a failsafe switch, which is outside. Sam – naturally! – turns to the books and lore at their fingertips.
The ritual that Sam finds needs the blood of a virgin. Bevell tells Dean, not even close. We know she slept with Ketch (David Haydn-Jones), but this also took me back to the life that we were lead to believe that she was leading at the end of last season, when she first appeared on the scene. Now it seems the killers of the BMoL are all damaged and brainwashed individuals, but when we first met her she had a son… and she asks Dean later to let her go to see him one last time.
After Day one’s trial of magic fails, Dean turns to braun for Day two. Apparently, Ackles and Padalecki had a ball really going at that door! We do get a really nice scene between the two of them, wondering how they ended up there. Sam blames himself for falling for the company line. He admits that following was easier than leading. And Dean finally gets to use his grenade launcher! Dean manages to get out – though he wracks up his leg pretty badly.
Mary shows up at Jody’s as the brothers try to find working cell phones to warn their friends. Dean gets Garth on the phone to warn him. The next we see, they’re arriving at Jody’s. Alex (Katherine Ramdeen) came home just in time to help Jody subdue Mary, and they have her tied up. Smith is super creepy in this episode as she happily greets her sons after having left them for dead and tried to kill their friend! Mary is cruel to Dean and Ackles is excellent in this scene. Jody tries to comfort him.
Bevell finally admits that she was lying. Mary can’t be saved. Dean is ready to execute Bevell, and Ketch keeps calling. Bevell tells then to run, but Sam is ready to fight. They call all the hunters they know – including Walt (Nels Lennarson) and Roy (Kerry van der Griend)! Here’s that fan service again as we’ve always wondered what happened to the two of them. Sam takes responsibility for calling the hunters and for letting the BMoL get a foothold. Sam points out that hunting isn’t just about killing – it’s about doing what’s right even when that’s hard. And he asks them to follow him to take the fight to the BMoL.
Dean sends Sam without him, partly because of his leg, but mainly because he’s going to save Mary. It’s another nice brother moment – and a HUG! – as Dean tells Sam he’s got it. We also get a bitch/jerk moment, and Alex tells Jody to “kick it in the ass” – throwing it back to Kim Manners. Dean tells Bevell he wants her to get him into Mary’s head. They head back to the bunker, and Ketch has tracked Mary there.
Bevell sedates Dean and Mary so he can enter her subconsious – and he handcuffs Bevell to the table before going under. He wakes to find himself back in his childhood home again. It looks a lot more like the house from the Pilot than the other iterations we’ve seen. Sam is in a crib, and Mary is getting lunch ready for little Dean. Dean tries to talk to her, but she apparently can’t hear him. As Mary tells little Dean that she only wants good things for him and won’t ever let anything bad happen to him, adult Dean tells her that he hates her. He tells her that she lied to him. She promised to keep him safe after making the deal with Azazel. She left them alone. He finally tells her exactly how things were for him growing up. And again, this could have come from almost 100 fan fiction stories. It’s the first time the show has had Dean say that he had to be father and mother to Sam – and that he couldn’t do it. Ackles is truly fantastic in this scene. Really, it’s some of the best work he’s done in several seasons.
As Dean continues to tell Mary that he hates her, it’s clear that she is hearing. In the real world, we see that sleeping Mary has been crying. Dean finally tells her that he also loves her. And he understands because he’s also had to make deals. And most importantly, he forgives her for everything. They can start over and get it right – but he needs her to fight.
Dean has finally gotten through to Mary when Ketch rips him out of his slumber. Bevell gets no death scene as she’s dead with her throat cut when Dean wakes up. He and Ketch fight, but Dean is hampered by his leg. Mind you, Dean makes a very poor showing! But luckily, Mary saves him.
Sam and his army manage to take the BMoL, and he, Jody and Walt corner Dr Hess (Gillian Barber). She buys time by telling them that Lucifer (Mark Pellegrino) is on the loose – and has pictures to prove it. She blame it on Crowley (Mark Sheppard) and tells them he’s dead, and she tells them that Lucifer is after Cas (Misha Collins) and the Nephilim. A disembodied voice from the computer tells Sam to listen to Hess – they need the BMoL. Sam passes, and Jody kills Hess. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem like we’ve seen the last of the BMoL.
Dean and Mary clean up the Bunker. Mary is consumed with guilt and apologizes for being cold and distant. She tells him that she was trying to make things right – from a distance – because being with them was too hard, seeing what she’d done to them. Dean tells her that everything that’s happened has made them who they are – they kick ass and they save the world. Sam arrives just in time to tell her that she doesn’t have to be scared of him not forgiving her – and we get a family hug! And frankly, I think that would have been a better end to the season…
“All Along the Watchtower” begins with another season montage set to “Carry On My Wayward Son.” And then the episode picks up with Cas and Kelly (Courtney Ford). She is desperate to make sure everything will be perfect for the baby who she will never meet. Cas swears that he will give his life for her son and raise him to be someone to be proud of.
And Crowley isn’t dead – just yet. He did smoke into that rat who then went and smoked back into Mark Sheppard. I was utterly disgusted by the treatment of Ruth Connell. She was never my favorite actor on the show, but I feel a lot of that was poor directing, but to have Rowena killed so unceremoniously was really bad form.
Mark Pellegrino is utterly delightful as Lucifer. He also points out that Sam no longer matters – he doesn’t need his meat suit. Dean and Sam try to say they’ll stop him, but he simply mocks them. They’ve never stopped him before – and now there’s no Rowena to put him back in the cage. Really? She’s the only witch who could do it?
Kelly is getting closer to giving birth, and the baby starts to send out signals. Dean, Sam, and Mary determine that they can find Cas, Kelly, and the baby by looking for weird signs. Cas finds a weird light that acts as a doorway to an alternate universe – a tear in space and time, leading to another world – with demons with horns – and is saved by Bobby Singer (Jim Beaver)!
Dean is not happy to see Crowley when he materializes in the Bunker. Dean clocks him one in the face and is about to slit his throat when Sam stops him. They might need his help with Lucifer. Crowley explains that he’d hope to keep Lucifer chained up as his own personal nuke – so no one would challenge him again. Crowley admits that he has realized that he hates his job. Crowley tells them that they’re the ones he’s betting on. If they let him help them cage/kill Lucifer, he’ll seal the gates of hell!
Cas returns to find Kelly going into labour – and lies about where he’s been. Luckily, in addition to reading a lot of books, he’s also taken a class on line to help with the birth. Meanwhile, Sam gets a hit on where they are holed up. Dean pins Crowley’s hand to the table with the Demon blade – he’s not about to trust him that far.
Cas tells Kelly that he saw a future without pain, fear, suffering or hate – he saw paradise when she took his hand. Cas isn’t happy to see Dean, Sam and Mary when they arrive. They want to take her, but Cas says she can’t be moved. Cas is shocked to hear about Lucifer. Dean assures him that they’ll work through their problems after this crisis is averted. Cas heals Dean.
Sam and Dean are freaked out by the rip in space and time. I loved Dean asking if it was like Narnia – AND they bring up “The French Mistake” universe! Cas tells them they don’t want to know what’s on the other side – but Dean points out that they need to. Cas takes them to the alternate world – a world where demons and angels are locked in perpetual war – with humans caught in the middle. Cas is sure that the baby will close it once he’s born.
Dean and Sam come face to face with Bobby – but this Bobby doesn’t know them. It’s also a world where they were never born – where Mary never made the deal with Azazel so John did die. It is a really nice tie back to the previous episode and Dean’s anger over her having made the deal. Apparently, angels are really bad in this universe. Dean is impressed with Bobby’s angel-killing bullets – much to Cas’ discomfort!
Mary tries to comfort Kelly, but they both know it’s going to end badly.
As soon as Dean, Sam and Cas return, Crowley is there. He tells them he’s the answer to their prayers. Dean and Sam arm up. Dean insists that the plan will work – because it has too. Cas briefs Kelly.
Lucifer arrives. Sam insists that Chuck – God – will stop him. But Lucifer points out that Chuck walked – God is gone. Lucifer insists that he can do better. Lucifer tosses Cas and Dean and Sam take off, leaving lots of time for Pellegrino to strut his stuff as Lucifer. He follows Sam and Dean into the other world. And Dean has Bobby’s angel bullet gun! He shoots the heck out of Lucifer, but it mostly just pisses him off. Meanwhile, Crowley is casting a spell to lock Lucifer in the other world. However, Lucifer is beating the crap out of Dean – and then Crowley tells Sam they need one more ingredient – a life.
Sam grabs Dean and heads for the rift. And Crowley at least goes out a hero – fighting Lucifer who was the reason we first met him. It actually felt like a good way to have his story come full circle. Cas comes through the rift as Dean and Sam jump out. Cas stabs Lucifer. The baby literally explodes out of Kelly, knocking Mary back and out.
Dean and Sam watch as Cas comes out of the rift only to have Lucifer stab him in the back, killing Cas too. Now. We’ve been told that Misha will be back – in some capacity – but Crowley is really and truly dead. Mary steps between Lucifer and her boys. She’s wearing the demon brass knuckles, tells the boys she loves them and then steps up to start beating Lucifer – and they both fall through the rift. Lucifer is beyond angry. And the boys are left with no angel, demon, or witch to help get her back.
We get a brief moment of a grieving Dean over Cas’ body. He’s lost his best friend and his mother in the same moment. Sam goes into the house and finds a dead Kelly with a peaceful smile on her face. He follows burning footsteps into the nursery and finds Jack – who is already a young man! The final shot actually makes him look a lot like Pennywise from
It!
This season really felt like there were two main storylines – one tied up in 12.22 and the other in 12.23, which really felt like just a set up for season 13. So… what did you think of the season? What are you hoping for this season? Have we seen the end of the BMoL? How do you think Dean and Sam will get Mary back? Will they try to look after Jack? Will he help them? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
