‘Supernatural’ – Episode 9.18 “Meta Fiction,” original air date April 15, 2014. Starring Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki and Misha Collins with guest stars Curtis Armstrong, Tahmoh Penikkett, and giant spoiler redacted. Directed by Thomas J. Wright, written by Robbie Thompson.
Ah, there are few things better than a Hellatus ending episode written by Robbie Thompson. There are five more (consecutive!!) episodes left in season nine, and we’re finally a little closer to the inevitable battles for Heaven and Hell in what I predict will be a an incredibly painful moment in Winchester Family History.
Tonight the brothers finally linked with Castiel, who had discovered a wakeful of Gadreel’s victims. The fallen angel had left one witness who proceeded to tell Castiel that he is the leader the y need, and he can lead all the angels back to Heaven. Coincidentally our brothers find said fallen angel and try to beat out answers about the Metatron and the Angel Tablet. Meanwhile, Metatron reveals his elaborate ruse as well as his master plan to end the war for Heaven once and for all and place himself on God’s throne. He’s intending to make himself a hero by vilifying Cas and martying anyone that follows the anti-Metatron way, and as evidenced by his new and improved powers tonight, the road to ending his reign has become much more complicated.
This was a pretty complicated episode and I’m all hopped up on the Q, I watched “Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise” while home sick today so that’s got me in a weird place, so let’s get to this. There are some pretty giant spoilers below, so if you haven’t seen the episode I encourage you to come back after you do.
The Unbelievable!!
- It’s so encouraging to know that even in the Twitter era, fans can still have the pants shocked off of ‘em. And what a surprise this fandom received tonight when the familiar title cards for “Casa Erotica” appeared in Castiel’s motel room. Metatron maybe kinda sorta brought back the fandom’s favorite trixter Gabriel in his Castiel recruitment effort. The archangel had a brief but hilarious cameo tonight, Twitter and Tumblr squeed in ecstasy, and while the episode and plot certainly could have advanced without his help, it sure was nice to see Gabriel again. Richard Speight Jr and Misha Collins have a great dynamic, and it could set a precedent for a permanent return (perhaps in the upcoming spin-off).
The “OK I Think I Finally See an Endgame”
- I have frequently grimaced over the meandering that season nine has done. It’s housed some pretty complicated plots that haven’t always looked like they have a lot to do with each other (which is not to say that that’s a neccissity, but I do stand by my opinion that a viewer shouldn’t wander about a point well into the final episodes of a season). But after tonight, the lightbulbs are in fact a bit brighter. Dean has to help a lesser of two evils reclaim a kingdom while Castiel must restore Heavenly balance, but I think the bigger issue here is that the relationship between Sam and Dean will come to an irrevocable change. Dean bears the Mark of Cain. Cain, the dude that was the first murderer. Cain, the dude that invented fratricide. Dean is changing (more on that later), and the lonely drifter who’s been a father while playing the role of the brother might have reached a breaking point this season even without that new mark on his arm. But with it, well, I’m excited to see how this story plays out.
The “Here are Some Folks that are Killin’ It this Season”
- Tahmoh Penikett is a BAMF. He is stoic and unflinching as the angel hellbent on redemption, but through good writing and solid acting we are able to see that he unceasingly questions his decisions. He’s been in Sam Winchester’s head, but since he’s lived out millennia making bad decisions out of love he’s a more perfect reflection of Dean.
- The music department is just on point this season. Castiel’s decision to lead an army (and play into Metatron’s scheme) packed an extra punch due to the use of Frankie Valli’s anthemic “Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore.” It wasn’t the first time the addition of pop music has brought up goosebumps on my arms, and I’m sure it won’t be the last.
- I’m not even remotely sorry about all the praise I have sang for Jensen Ackles this season. The guy has kept his bravado in proportion to seasons past, but this year Dean’s pain, confusion, guilt, and anger are bubbling to the surface, often in scenes completely void of dialogue. So bravo to Mr. Ackles and all his directors for bringing so much dimension to this season.
The Quiet “Holy Crap.”
- You guys? Dean Winchester beat an unwarded angel to a bloody, unconscious pulp with his bare hands. None of it happened on camera, but it was certainly implied that Dean removed Gadreel from the angel trap and beat him so hard that he lay docile and unconscious in the middle of the floor. Not even Cas can do that. The question of Dean’s motive makes the act all the more awesome, because I think we can all agree that this had absolutely nothing to do with the grand re-opening of Heaven and everything to do with the abuse of Sam and the death of Kevin, but more specifically Dean’s guilt in regards to both.
It would appear we will wait another couple of weeks to see more on the resolutions to these events, as next week is a MotW featuring the return of Sheriff Jody Mills (yay!!), and the week after that we will be introduced to the Supernatural spin-off. I’m still not entirely sure where things are going, but I’m much more enthused to see how we get there. And I think that if things progress the way my instincts are telling me, I have never been less prepared for that Wayward Son episode. This one is gonna hurt. A lot.