XII : Winchester Brothers Report : “Where does that leave us?”

Supernatural “Family Feud” (12.13) | air date February 23, 2017.

Winchester recap: “Thank you, Gavin.”

Sam and Dean are investigating a strange death at a museum in DesMoines, Iowa. Dean hasn’t seen Mary in a while and he calls to see if she wants to join in. She’s still resting up after the whole Ramiel thing. “I love you”, but raincheck? Dean thinks Mary is hiding something but Sam is positive that she’s just taking it easy. Hunting is a “grind” after all. When they arrive at the Shipwrecks of New England Museum, they find that a total of three people have died, two teachers and a scouts leader. The first victim died in Andover, Massachusetts, which is where the artifacts from the latest the travelling exhibit come from. They were found inside the Star, a ship that sunk in a storm in 1723. Dean remembers that it’s Gavin MacLeod’s ship and he calls Crowley to ask him where Gavin is. Crowley who’s already furious after learning from Lucifer that the nephilim is still alive, tears into the Winchesters for letting Kelly Klyne get away and refuses to help them.

They turn to Rowena and lure Gavin to DesMoines by sending word that his father is sick. Gavin goes through the list of the objects found on the Star, the ship he was supposed to board until Abaddon came to get him in “King of the Damned”, and he finds a locket he bought himself for the love of his life, his girlfriend Fiona. She wasn’t supposed to be on the ship. She would have smuggled herself abord to be with him, and would have died when it sunk. Gavin summons Fiona’s ghost after she kills her fourth victim. Shes angry. He abandonned her and wasn’t there to protect her from the crew that assaulted her while the passengers did nothing and her own her teacher blamed her for bringing it on herself because she was chasing after Gavin. The only way to fix things is to set history straight by having Gavin board the ship like he was supposed to. He agrees with the Winchesters’ solution. He doesn’t fit in the New World. He’s alone and would rather spend eternity with Fiona and erase the nightmare she went through by never having her board the ship alone in the first place.

Crowley appears. “Just because Dim and Dimmer here can’t keep their family all in the same dimension doesn’t mean they can mess with mine.” Crowley doesn’t want his son to die but Gavin’s already made up his mind and only called him to say goodbye. “Fergus, he’s not like us.” “Let him do what he thinks is right.” Rowena immobilizes Crowley as he tries to stop Gavin and she updates the time-travelling spell Henry Winchester and Abaddon used to make sure Gavin returns to his fate. Sam and Dean watch Gavin reunite with Fiona and disappear. “This is a tough one” but the brothers appreciate Gavin’s sacrifice. Sam checks to see if the spell worked. All the victims are alive and there’s no mention of the murders in the news. “Thank you, Gavin.”

Mary visits her sons in the bunker. Dean’s not rolling out the welcome mat. “Well, well! It has been a while. A long, long, long, long, long, long while.” Sam tries to smooth things over. “He’s dramatic as you know. What he meant to say was we missed you. Glad you’re back.” Mary has burgers, beers and an announcement. She’s been working with the British Men of Letters. Sam’s mood changes. “We have a …history with them.” Mary thinks they can learn something from the BMOLs and she tells Dean not to give her “the face”. Sam is fine with the toolkit he and Dean already have, “it works”, and he reminds Mary of his “broken ribs” and “burnt feet”. “We don’t trust the Brits.” Dean asks Mary: “So where does that leave us.” “Same as always. Family. Just hear me out. Please.”

Crowley knows there’s a “spiteful” reason Rowena sent Gavin away, a whole new low, even for her. He was a “lovely boy” and she believes Crowley cared for him in his own “lizard way” but it was payback for Oskar, the boy Crowley forced Rowena to kill in order to remove the Mark of Cain. The episode ends with Lucifer alone in Crowley’s prison saying the name of the Prince of Hell who’s currently providing shelter to the pregnant Kelly Klyne: “Dagon”.

 

Overall grade : 7.5/10

This episode was jam-packed: Arthur Ketch and Mary, Crowley and Lucifer, Kelly and Dagon, the Winchesters and Rowena and Gavin and Fiona. I usually love ghost stories on this show and this one, like the rest of the episode, had a lot going on: an extensive backstory for the ghost (she’s basically Crowley’s daughter-in-law), shipwrecks, travelling lockets, several deaths and resurrections, a Henry Winchester mention, an Abaddon cameo (oh how I miss her, my other favorite Cayenne Pepper Red), an even a glowing soulmate-reunited sequence à la “Angel Heart” (10.20). It seems the point of the hunt was to ultimately remove Gavin from the show’s current timeline. I wasn’t impressed with him when we met him in “King of the Damned” (as this brand new character with little in common with the resentful spirit from “Weekend At Bobby’s) but I grew to like him in “Family Feud”. A good guy indeed, which is surprising considering the family he hails from.

In spite of all of this, I struggled to connect with the ghost story, almost like there was too much going on elsewhere for me to fully commit to the tragedy that is Fiona and Gavin. Sweet, unassuming Gavin was but a pawn in this episode. Used to set the timeline straight, clean up the hunt, give Rowena her revenge against Crowley, establish a parallel between Crowley and Lucifer as “single fathers” and maybe even cause additional tension between the Winchester brothers and Crowley.

I enjoyed meeting Dagon. I liked the character and the actress. I wonder if she knows that her brother Ramiel is dead and if it will position her as a new enemy to the Winchesters. On the topic of Dagon and especially that pregnancy she took “an interest in” as  Ramiel himself told us, can I say how flabbergasted I was that Kelly’s hair was still so luscious and her shirt still so white in spite of the three coins left in her wallet and the struggle that had become of her life? I don’t mind, I just found it amusing but if our boys can look model-fine in all circumstances and still have all their teeth, I can definitely let this slide.

I enjoyed watching Sam the Man of Letters and his databases. Last episode (“Stuck In the Middle (With You)” they told us he uploaded the entire MOL library and in this episode we could see him working the case with a database that includes the federal missing person database, local and federal police databases, cold case files, other documents. I love those kinds of details of the hunting/men of lettering life. Gone are the days where all Sam had to work with was that nondescript “Search the Internet” engine.

On to my other beloved. There were precious artifacts in this episode which is a surefire sign that Dean’s inner child is about to make an appearance. I called him my “lovable bull in a China shop, wrecking antique ships like they’re Dollar Tree trinkets” in the “Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets” Report and Mr. Gotta Get My Hands On This couldn’t help himself at the museum either. He managed to keep it together, unlike in “The One You’ve Been Waiting For” and he put down the blade before he could break anything. Sweet boy. Always good for comic relief and so childishly cute you almost forget he’s a serial killer.

Three dynamics caught my attention in this episode. My favorite, Dog Eat Dog. Second favorite, Row v. Row and you know how I feel about Mary by now but no, the third one isn’t “Another scathing segment on Mother Mary” like the one from the “Stuck In the Middle” Report. I’ve already put her un-motherly antics under the microscope and gone into great details over Dean’s not so warm and fuzzy feelings about her, so I’ll focus on Sam this time.

Dog Eat Dog: “Call me… Master.”

Last week I told the show that I was willing to overlook a soap opera magic trick like finding Nick’s long lost twin or anything else that would allow us to keep Lucifer inside Mark Pellegrino’s meatsuit. I can’t describe my excitement when Crowley was explaining everything he did to ensure that Nick would be the “final home” for Lucifer. I’ve complained about “the cockroach that won’t die”, but this is a compromise I can live with. Alright now, welcome back Mister Pellegrino! Of course, I’m worried. Crowley didn’t go through all this trouble for Lucifer to sit quietly in prison. He’s going to break free. That’s probably why he called Dagon. She’s Team Lucifer. And then what? I think he will be on the show at least until the nephilim is born or right about to come into the world. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. I don’t actually think they will ‘rule’ together because an archangel and a nephilim is entirely too much power on this show if they’re both antagonists. How do you defeat them at the same time, and no, Chuck and Amara don’t count, he was vacationing and she was always more interested in seducing Dean.

Row v. Row: “I’m your mother, dear. Who better to crush your shriveled heart?”

Devious, devious Rowena. I was surprised that she seemed to take an instant liking to her grandson. I didn’t think she was capable of loving anything that came out of Crowley or herself for that matter. Her joy at finding out Gavin had a “wee girlfriend”, her comforting pats on his back when when he learned the love of his life had become a ghost, the way she stroked his cheek when he said goodbye, all seemed genuine to me. Rowena’s been known to be fake with a family member in the past but I believe her when she described Gavin as a “lovely boy”. Shows how well she trained her heart to remain cold that she would sell out a grandson she could actually love, in order to jam an ax into Crowley’s back. After their so-called truce, this new betrayal recreates a nice tension between mother and son for their upcoming encounters. They’re at their best when they bicker and I like where the episode left them. That said, my goodness, those wet eyes on Crowley. The snake has a heart, and it weeps! If only for his son.

Unmotherly Mary: “Don’t give me the face.”

I don’t know if they’re trying to soften Mary’s profile with the reference to the “magic fingers”, that old obsession of Dean’s, but no dice. “Nothing comes before my family.” Ma’am, have you watched yourself on the show? Didn’t you JUST gamble with Sam and Dean’s lives for the Colt like a week ago? Lady, just walk out the bunker and take your Burgers of Treachery with you. “Don’t give me that face.” Oh sure, Dean. I can disappoint you all I want, but don’t you dare have an opinion about it young man. Is she out of the bunker yet? Oh, this is turning into ‘Another Scathing Segment on Mother Mary’ after all. Let me go talk to Sam.

I’ve mentioned how Sam’s the one who’s continued to try to get close to Mary while Dean’s been giving her a permanent side eye since “The Foundry”. I’ve enjoyed seeing his happiness at having his mother around but I also thought he was working hard to protect his illusions about her. I noted the rather cold manner in which she dismissed his concern last episode and I find that Sam’s facade of happiness is finally starting to crack. He was a bit defensive in the car when Dean said she was hiding something. “She just needs a little time, Dean, that’s all.” Why so irritated, my love?

Dean’s already jaded about Mary. When she said she was working with the BMOL, he said, “ah” and nodded like, hey, I had an inkling she was up to something. Sam on the other hand was taken aback.  He reminds her they have “history” with the BMOL, frowns as she continues to justify her alliance with them, brings up the injuries they inflicted on him and the way he looks at her changes after that. He stops trying to protect her from Dean’s anger and disappointment (he’s just kidding, he’s as happy to see you as I am), he’s just quiet. The table that separates Sam and Dean from Mary seems to turn into the Gran Canyon. When Mary continues to explain, “hear me out”, Sam is the one covering his face with his hands. I’m so sorry dear boy, I love the hell out of you, but I was waiting for the moment you would finally see her for who she is. The sooner the better too. Now Dean, time to get a salad shake, and fresh apples from the farmer’s market. Our boy needs some comfort food stat. He’s just come out of the denial stage.

 

Best Dean moments

“What face?” The one before. And that one. Give her all the faces, Dean. She has some nerve, coming in here with her Fries of Treason, dropping bombs all over the bunker and then try to tell you how you should feel about it.

“Ah.” I really liked Dean’s reaction to Mary’s announcement. I said in “The Foundry” Report that I have this symbiotic emotional thing going on with Dean (when I’m fuming or heartbroken about this show, it’s usually because of something someone did to him), and that I would have reacted the same way he did when he took that step away from Mary, and everything he’s done since then mirrors what my reactions would have been perfectly. I was rolling my eyes at the moment he said “ah” like Mary, you can barely surprise Dean or me at this point. We kinda already know how you roll.

Mr. Gotta Get My Hands on It but I didn’t break it this time (“The One You’ve Been Waiting For”), or cut myself trying to see if it was sharp (“Everybody Hates Hitler”). This cutie.

 

Best Sam moments

“Broken ribs.” “Burnt feet.” Happy the show is acknowledging what Sam went through and especially that he gets to talk about his pain. Jared nailed it by the way. Not happy that Sam has to remind Mary of what he went through like she wasn’t there herself to see her youngest son tied up, broken, bruised and bloodied the day she ‘met’ him after all those years. You’d think it would have made more of an impression on her.

“You, uh…what?” The moment Sam sees this new side of Mary. What do you mean you won’t join us for a hunt but are sneaking around with the British Men of Letters of all people?

Sam’s satisfied grin when he manages to reel Rowena in. Gotcha. Love their dynamic. They should always be plotting together. It’s so much fun to watch.

 

Best Winchester moments

I actually love the dynamic between the brothers and all the MacLeods. Here’s another fun moment where they were getting yelled at by Crowley. “You and your brother are in fact, MORONS!” It’s also what he called them when he first met them in “Abandon All Hope”: “And three, how about you don’t miss, okay! MORONS!” Ha!

Love the contrast in those reactions between Sam and Dean. Dean is again, nodding. Yeah, okay mom. Sam is covering his face. He just can’t believe Mary right now.

 

Juicy bit: “Oh my Dad!” “You and I, both single fathers.”

And I can’t believe this. I haven’t had a “Juicy Bit” in a while and I revive this segment for Lucifer, who I’ve been railing against for months of all people. The power of Pellegrino… That parallel between Crowley and Lucifer was really interesting to me. Crowley had something a heart when it came to his son. That leaves the possibility that Lucifer might also have one, for the nephilim. We already know he cared about Gabriel and Michael, to some degree. He also talked about a connection, and his pride for his unborn son. This might turn out to be a weakness for Lucifer. What is he willing to do to make sure the nephilim lives? Would he sacrifice himself? He also talked about Satan Jr., as if they were already a team. Could Luci Jr., turn against his father? I’d be surprised if the show let them work together. Too much power. Wow. Looks like they finally found a way to get me on board this Lucifer ship. It’s a damned miracle!

 

Final verdict

An episode that had a lot going on and moved the plot forward. Kelly under the protection of a Prince of Hell, Lucifer back in his final vessel which means he will no longer try to jump Sam or anybody else’s bones thanks Chuck, Lucifer trying to establish a connection with Dagon, which means he could be set free soon. So many interesting possibilities.

I wasn’t looking forward to seeing Gavin again after his appearance on “King of the Damned” but I liked him in this episode. I kept wondering how he turned out so nice, soft-spoken and decent with a father like Crowley. I was as always, happy to see the other MacLeods, Rowena and Fergus. I was surprised when Rowena took her revenge. Just when I think she’s warming up to Crowley, boom, knife in his back. Well! After all they’re not nice people and I love them for the twisted and damaged beyond repair characters that they are.

Very happy that Mary told the boys the truth. I want them to know exactly what they’re dealing with (which they won’t, until they find out how she masterminded the Ramiel hunt) and for all my love for Sam and my desire to see him happy, part of me was uncomfortable with his unconditional support of her which I always felt she hadn’t earned and didn’t deserve. Whatever he chooses to do from this point on, at least the rose-colored glasses are off.

Actually looking forward to the next episode (it’s been a while), and definitely feeling better about Lucifer still being on the show now that I know he’s tethered to his current vessel. Hurray!

Merci,

Vee

 

Gif credits

The Winchester Brothers Report by Vee

Season 11: 11.01, 11.02 to 11.23

Season 12
12.01: “If he is not in one piece I will take you apart.”
12.02: “The only thing we had was each other.”
12.03: “Family hunting trip.”
12.04: “I hate you so much right now.”
12.05: “What do you think this is? Tickle party?”
12.06: “Where is my brother?”
12.07: “The brothers that rock together.”
12.08: “Impeach LOTUS, find Rosemary’s baby.”
12.09: “We’re the guys who saved the world.”
12.10: “I can’t see, did you get a plate?”
12.11: “It was everything. It was us, it was what we do.”
12.12: “They got gear, but they tried to kill my brother.”