14:1, 14:2, and Speculations

So, the first two episodes of Season 14 are out.  I have some thoughts on the episodes themselves, and also some speculations about where the season might be headed (or, perhaps more accurately, where I’d go from here.

First things first:

I was really impressed with about the first five minutes.  Jensen Ackles killed it as Michael: there was none of Dean’s warmth, Dean’s humanity, in him.  I was also intrigued by Sam-the-leader, giving orders to his troops.  I’d been expecting to find him drunk and broken, crying into his beard. Showing that he’d stepped up, rather than running away and “hitting a dog” was refreshing.

I was so not impressed with the REST OF 14:1.  It was a whole lot of “why would you do that?”

I mean.  Why.  Would. You: waste your season opener on a one-off Crowley-wannabe who dies like a punk by the end of the episode?

I’d like to think they have a good reason.  But I’m not really confident about that.

The whole episode seemed really haphazard.  Like they had no idea what they actually wanted to do with the characters who weren’t Michael, and they were marking time until that plot thread advanced.

I feel really bad for Jack, though.  And I feel really REALLY bad for Sam, who is forced to deal with MiraculouslyNotDead!Nick.  (And holy shit, do you not remember what Sam experienced at those hands, even if it was not that person “behind the wheel”?)

Also I am really tired of Castiel being the butt-monkey.  I realize that if he was allowed to be at full power he would be a game balance breaker, but really?  Not being able to see that the other people in the bar were demons?  Getting beat up without so much as taking down one of them?  Castiel deserves better.

I didn’t get Kipling’s (so not a Mongol name) desire to have Sam dork-stamp his rule.  And why was Sam so determined that there be no King of Hell?

Also, “What do you want” was giving me Babylon 5 feels, which does the current incarnation of Supernatural no favors.

I liked that they had at least a reference to the Impala scenes that have been sadly lacking in the past couple seasons, even if I thought that Sam should have been less willing to accept Mary’s reassurance.  And the romantic sparks between Bobby and Mary at least set up a potential for conflict: how are Sam and Dean going to feel about that relationship?  (As well as a complication to the return of John Winchester, as teased by Jeffrey Dean Morgan?)

I would have liked to have gotten at least a glimpse of Dean: how is Michael keeping him contained?  And why on earth would Michael have any interest in the vampries?  Just because they’re honest about what they want?

14:2

This was at least a good episode.  Things happened that felt like they might actually have some kind of significance.

Michael is actually scarier here.  He feels a little bad that he’s burning out the vampires, but not bad enough to actually STOP.  The ends justify the means, which is NEVER a good thing.

Nick apparently has more to do than just sit around the Bunker and feel sorry for himself.  So that’s a good thing.  And … apparently he killed his wife and kid?

Jack’s scenes with his family were kind of cringe-worthy, but in a good way?  It was clearly supposed to be awkward: Jack is keeping a lot of secrets but still trying to connect as best he can.  (Though his comments later about them being his last “real family” ring false.)

His determination to destroy Michael, even if it meant killing Dean, hinted at some possible conflict.

I wasn’t really sold on the werewolves, and for that matter, how did cutting off their heads work if silver didn’t?  Using an angel blade on them (since they’d been upgraded by Grace) would have made more sense.

And Dean’s return, which I hope is because there’s an actual plan, not because they didn’t know what to do with Michael, and didn’t trust the fans to stick around if Dean wasn’t actually there.

Which leads to speculations/what I’d do:

Dean’s return: while it seems legit, Michael is really just hanging out in the back of Dean’s skull, waiting for the right time.  We the viewers get hints over the next several episodes, leading to the ultimate reveal (at the mid-season finale?)

And I really hope the next episode opens with Dean in angel handcuffs, or at least telling Sam to put them on him, pronto, because what if it’s a trap?

Nick: Team Free Will learns that he murdered his neighbor, leading to much angst on Dean’s part: what if he, like Nick, was irrevocably damaged by his time as an Archangel’s meatsuit.  Ultimately resolved when they figure out that Nick murdered his family, possibly leading to a sense of relief just before Michael takes control again.

King of Hell: at least some demons believe that this means that the Boy King has finally stepped up to take the crown.  Wackiness (by which I mean bloodshed) ensues.

Upgraded Monsters: surely there were more than just the three that showed up at the church?

There would also be some serious angst once they realized that Mary and Bobby are a thing now.  And though Dean would try to be supportive, he’d definitely be thrown off by General Sam Winchester of the Hunter Army.  Also, Jack needs to learn how to be okay without his powers, before he gets them back.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *