Supernatural 6×11

[rusty_halo]

You guys, that was so good. Best episode of the season so far.

Death is such a fabulous character, and that actor is great. I'm so happy they brought him back and gave him a bigger part.

Tessa also is totally fabulous and I was happy to see her again.

Was there no misogyny at all in this ep? Last week was a really good episode, too, but the misogyny left a bad taste in my mouth that I'm happy to not have this week.

I was hoping that Sam actually would stab Bobby and Dean would be wearing the ring at the time and would have to kill him. Wouldn't that have been great? It's not that I dislike Bobby, but I think he's played out as a character and the writers tend to use him as a narrative crutch, so I'd like to see him go out in a powerful way. Plus it really would have hit the emotions more intensely than the various strangers did.

I was really worried that Dean would have to kill Lisa or Ben and was very very glad that didn't come up.

I was surprised that Dean's letter was to Ben and not to Lisa, but yeah, it makes sense on a couple of levels. (Ben is kind of his replacement Sam, Lisa's mad at him and may not want to hear it, etc.)

That ending!!!! We have to wait until, what, late January? to find out what happens next!?!? That was one of the best cliffhangers I've ever seen. I enjoyed the soulless Sam arc, but I am also very glad that he has his soul back now and we can get back to exploring the character of the Sam we actually care about, with whole new traumas to keep us entertained!

I loved how nuanced the moral dilemmas in this ep were. You could really see why Sam didn't want his soul back and he did have an ethical argument about his ability to choose his own destiny. But you could also see, when he tried to kill Bobby, why the return of his soul was necessary.

I love that Dean remembered Adam and asked for his soul back too. Yay continuity!

I like the implication that part of the reason terrible things keep happening to the Winchester brothers is not just that they're the center of a TV show where drama is necessary but because they keep defying the natural order, and doing so has consequences. I really like the way this show grapples with the free will and fate questions--it's always pulling for free will but doesn't ignore that you can't always win and that nothing is without a price. I love Dean so much I can't even tell you, that he wants Sam's soul back so badly but he also can't stand to see innocent people suffer. I was surprised but pleased that he took the ring off--being Death should be too much to handle!

I also like the parallel with last week's episode, in which Dean told Samuel that resurrecting Mary would be wrong. On some level, he already knows that messing with the natural order of life and death will have bad consequences. I loved the implication last week that if Dean could go back to 2x22, this time he would choose not to resurrect Sam. (Which reminds me of an absolutely brilliant vid that hits a similar concept: Hurt by ash48.)

This ep did a great job of calling back to the tones and themes of series highlights--especially 1x12 "Faith," 2x01 "In My Time of Dying," obviously 2x22 and the whole plot about Dean's deal in S3, and 4x15 "Death Takes a Holiday"--in a way that adds richness to what's already been established without retconning anything in a jarring way.

The concept of the "wall" is great because it allows them to deal with the consequences of Sam's time in hell slowly over time, in a way that doesn't ignore the trauma he's been through but still allows the narrative to continue moving forward. The "don't scratch at it" scene was so creepy and effective! For the first time this season I was completely absorbed and enthralled by the story and wasn't thinking on a meta level about the fact that I was watching an episode of a television series.

As usual with Supernatural, I love the use of little moments of humor to balance out the ~epic angst~. The contrast in tone makes for more overall intensity and is also more true to life. I love that even as Death, Dean was still Dean in all his ridiculousness and flaws and sweetness and complexity.

Totally awesome episode. I loved it.

Originally published at rusty-halo.com. You can comment here or there.

Comments

[soundingsea]

I liked this ep better than any in a while, and the refreshing lack of misogyny was probably a big factor!

Totally agree with you about Death and Tessa. (Even though I agree Bobby's narrative role is past its sell-by date, I don't think Dean could live with Sam (or Dean!) having killed Bobby, so I'm glad that didn't happen.