I enjoyed this episode more than I anticipated, and was shocked at how Deancentric it was. Dean was actually allowed to interact with the guest stars and take the lead where necessary - a surprising change of pace from mute wallpaper!Dean of season 12.
I was also surprised at how, after having been mostly nasty to Dean about his depression issues up to now, suddenly Sam was all concerned about Dean. Not sure why, to be honest.
The best thing about this episode is that it wasn't "Jacknatural" - the kid was finally benched, and it made a huge difference. Not only that, the case in general had the feel of a strong Kripke-era episode, with some actual continuity for a pleasant change of pace. It really looked like Yockey had done some research over hiatus.
I also liked the promotion of Billie to Death, and the explanation worked well enough. She was a lot less annoying as Death than she was as some random reaper. I really enjoyed the "hall of records" set. The whole feel of it harkened back to seasons 4/5.
This was the first episode of the season that I not only wanted to watch, but actually watched twice.
Though as much as it was nice to hear Billie say Dean was important (Sam too), fool me ... a gazillion times? I'll believe this is going to lead to something when it's actually written down on paper, filmed, and aired on TV. Until then, not getting my hopes up.
I'm also not convinced that Cas hasn't done come back wrong, per usual. It'd be redundant, but that's how this show rolls.
All in all, though, best episode of the season so far.
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Missemd (274)
7 years ago
Compared to many fans on the forums I don’t follow who the Showrunners or Writers are and I don’t get caught up in the whole ‘Dean v’s Sam’ and which brother gets the better/bigger storyline’s on the show but I have definitely caught myself hoping that Cas gets his full powers back for this season.
I’m doing (another) rewatch of the series and as I’m at Season 4 right now, I have to confess that Cas at ‘full Angel power’ is so much more interesting to watch than the watered down version we have seen for so many seasons now.
And I too loved the ‘hall of records’ set!
For some reason it filled me with hope that there is a ‘bigger picture’ to the journey that the boys are on this year. I agree that it definitely had a Season 4/5 vibe about it, which makes me happy as those 2 Seasons have the most of my favourite episodes in them by far.
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Bella-UK (1282)
7 years ago
S2/4/5 are my favourite seasons to date and can never call them on a single favourite. It did feel like the old days and left us with a lot of hope that the boys, after all, feel destined for bigger. I did like Yoke's writing from the start, and some didn't overly agree with me. But I believe he has, as they say, promise to become as big as Edlund, Thompson and other writers of our bygone history. It did have a number of parallels to past episodes, which I always love to examine closely. It was a quality ghost story with remembrance to 'Death' and the veil. We were also privy to a bit more Winchester brother closeness which has been lacking of late and thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved the return of Billie, and her promotion. However, she will NEVER replace the original Julian Richings, whom I so miss. Really enjoying this season.
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