BoxManLocke

I mean at that point, why don't they use this on every single character ? Would save us the trouble to pretend like we have to be worried in life or death situations.

Jensen and Jared make millions every season, not counting convention fees, so I'm not really buying the "support their familiies" thing, they're pretty much set for several lifetimes at that point. However, they have an amazing work environment like you said, and I assume they feel responsible for the crew, who they are very close to, and these people's salaries are much closer to ours. They have to feel weird about potentially letting these people go. I'm not upset at them for staying as much as I'm upset at them for not being more involved in the writing process and putting their foot down when need be. I know there's professional etiquette and the guys are obviously well-mannered and kind, but come on, this is a 14 years old show we're talking about, it's theirs more than the writers, especially since there isn't a commanding figure that we know of in the writers romm (to compare it to another very long running-show, Grey's Anatomy still has its creator on board). I dunno, they don't seem to be fighting for the show that much, but maybe I'm deluded for thinking they should care or that they can't possibly be truthful when they're complementing the writers for literally everything.

Thank you, I missed that indeed. The idea that a piece of soul will be enough to keep a nephilim alive, who is being devoured by supernatural forces, for years when Lily, a human, needed her whole soul to simply keep being young, is huh... interesting. But I guess this is the best we're going to get and is on par with this episode's writing. I'm mostly relieved we're done with this.

That whole thing about Dean feeling "betrayed" by Michael and the useless guilt-tripping the writers are forcing upon him for choosing to get possessed is the weakest Dean-related storyline in a very long time. They should have made it very clear from the season 13 finale that Dean knew he was sacrificing himself and that Michael would keep his body, because of course he would know, he's not a dumbass. That was the right choice to make and any consequences related to Michael being free pale in comparison to all that Lucifer was planning to do. But no, got to have that quick and easy drama because we can't be bothered to build new long-term characters arcs (again, paraphrasing what Dabb and Singer SAID THEMSELVES. In front of thousands of fans.) Between this and Sam's lame as hell Chief arc, which seems to have been all but dropped and offered absolutely nothing of value to the character, it's really not a good time to be anything but a hardcore Jack fan.

Either they pretend that Rowena's explanation never happened, that Jack's grace miraculously starts to regenerate now (we were told it might take years), or we get another death storyline. The writers cornered themselves again. It's like they're not even trying.

I may have missed the explanation, but I just don't see how Jack's resurrection solves his problem long term ? The "a nephilim without his grace doesn't belong hence he'll start withering off" problem Rowena explained. Shouldn't he go right back to dying in a few weeks ?

I don't even recognize her. What episode is she from ? Also, when you're struggling to set up a villain, the one thing you should avoid doing is constantly switching the actors playing that character. There's already very little to hold on to when it comes to Michael's story. Different interpretations only muddle things up even further. The only good and tangible thing Michael had going for him was Jensen. I think the crazy personality of The Empty was a stupid choice, but at least it's recognizable. Michael is nothing but a name they've been trying to scare us with for over a season.

Interesting, I'm actually afraid the exact opposite will happen and that they'll relegate him to a D-tier character because there's just so much stuff to cover and the Michael storyline has barely started. Also at some point they're going to have to bring back Mary, Bobby, Lucifer and the faceless hunters, among others. UGH. Anyway good luck with that mess writers, you brought this on yourselves.

Everything about Jack was rushed after season 13's midseason finale. It's like the second they found out the character was received positively by the fandom, they scrambled to prop him up like crazy, making him connect with as many characters as possible, make him a hero, make it so that he never screws up and that everybody instantly falls in love with him. Don't get me wrong, I think Jack is a great character and the best long-term addition to the show since Crowley, but they came really close to ruining him. The silver lining is that we're done with this rushed storyline of his so there's finally time to let the character breathe a little.

Yeah that makes no sense to me. It's still a way better deal than dying right now. "No I won't kill you right now, I'll do it after you've experienced more happiness". Huh... thanks ? I guess that's a way for the writers to set up their AMAZING season finale cliffhanger. Until Cass comes back three episodes in season 15.

lol yeah, the stupidly quick and anti-climatic death of Jack kiiiiiinda gave away that he was going to be back fairly quickly. Like you @Katy M, I wasn't bored. I thought it was utterly ridiculous, mind you. That's just how the show is most of the time now. Like the episode dealing with bringing someone back from the dead for the umpteenth time, like the bunker being completely empty again, like Sam screaming RESURRECTION minutes after Jack died peacefully as if he hadn't learned anything, like the solution to the brothers' problem being offered to them on a silver platter and neatly tied up into a little bow (throwaway character willing to sacrifice herself, the empty attacking and making saving Jack the only convenient choice, etc). It wasn't good, but it worked, mostly because there was no bloat. No faceless hunters, no Mary, no Nick/Lucifer. As long as we get these kind of episodes I'm okay to keep watching, but I know that won't last, unfortunately. Anyway, now that we're done with this waste of time (Castiel might die at some point, wooo I'm scared !), we can get back to Michael. Curious to see how they'll try to salvage that plot with the amount of episodes left and all the crap left to deal with.

Airdate 2018.12.06

100% this. What's crazy is that all they had to do was carry Michael/Dean as the main plot to the midseason finale, and use Jack's illness as the B-plot and Sam could have taken the emotional toll. Dean fans get what they want, Jack's reverts back to a supporting character as he should, and Sam gets to meaningfully interact with a character with whom he shared a genuine bond not so long ago. Everybody would have been happy. This goddamn show writes itself, but PTB have been in their own little bubble for a couple of years now. Jensen can act his ass off as much as he wants to, it's still going to be shallow and feel forced when the writers are acting like they're fucking soulmates all of a sudden. Once again this is just about getting some sweet sweet fangirl tears without putting any work that's not very short-term. It's all these writers can achieve nowadays.

I can't stop thinking about this episode. It wasn't even that bad, but talk about an eye-opener. I need to vent. The writers are perfectly okay just completely negating their own season finales in a matter of weeks. Michael!Dean was done and dusted after a couple of episodes and Lucifer's back after seven. Great fucking job. Why feel anything when potentially interesting storylines are on the horizon ? They're just going to get ignored or dealt with super quickly. Why feel anything when characters get killed ? They're just going to be brought back. I could deal with the "inconsistent" writing, the borderline fanfiction/parody storyline ideas, the absence of character development for the leads, the criminally underutilized side characters, the cheap-ass CGI, the amateurish editing and lazy as fuck directing. As long as at some point in the season there was a payoff for watching. But now they just take that away too. When nothing matters, the only thing worthwhile that's left to discuss is the amount of screentime allocated to each characters and actors. That shit isn't all over the SPN communities because the fandom is garbage, it's because WHAT THE FUCK ELSE ARE PEOPLE SUPPOSED TO TALK ABOUT ? At some point the writers just forgot there are rules in storytelling for a reason, or maybe they decided Supernatural just didn't need them. Either way, fuck 'em. I'm off this sinking ship. I can't believe I stuck around for so long and when the finish line in basically in sight I can't do it anymore. I should have started binge-watching during the summer years ago, but I chose to keep watching live out of some dumb loyalty to the community. So I guess it's kind of my fault too. And the worst part is, these dumbass writers have such quality characters and talented actors on their hands, you can still feel the magic sometimes, even in episodes where nothing fucking happens like this one. That's how badly this show is being wasted on them.

I think it's a reach to think a human can resurrect an archangel, or anything in the empty for that matter. Just by praying, special phone line or not. But then, all that Dabb's been doing for two years is constantly reaching to make every new resurrection acceptable to the point where my suspension of disbelief is completely gone. I want to feel something when characters die and SPN isn't the show for that anymore. It's an old and soulless fanservice machine that's about actors instead of characters. Well if I want to see J² or Misha on my screen I can just launch Youtube. No need to sit through this giant mountain of bullshit anymore especially when it can't stop exposing me to Pellegrino.

You know I was almost about to faintly praise BuckLeming for this one and say that if it wasn't for their Pellegrino obsession, they could almost blend right in with the other writers nowadays. Then that penultimate scene (which made no fucking sense) happened and I realized that obsession was going to take over the show. Again. Lucifer's gonna come back, heal Jack, stick around and help fight Michael or whatever, because this show can't commit to anything but the past anymore. can't take risks, can't give proper storylines to its leads, and can't do its side characters justice except motherfucking Lucifer. I'll keep watching until he comes back, which will probably be episode 13. Then I'm done. I just can't take the crushing disappointment year after year when all there is to look forward to is a few scenes every once in a while like those with Dean and Jack here.

Hahaha Sam and Dean split up again, in the finale this time, after the same thing happened in like 5 episodes out of 8 before that. I criticize this writing staff a whole lot, but I admit it's got to be hard to manage when the co-stars want their work load to be cut in half, while the network won't cut the episode order accordingly. 20 eps is WAY too much for the amount of free time J² wanted this year, but it seems CW isn't ready to stop milking this cash cow as much as humanly possible. Btw, Garth is dead. I'm sure the emotional toll will be MASSIVE for a character we haven't seen in ages and for which the show never gave much of a crap about after season 7.

A flashback. Four months later. I know Dabb loves his "long game", but does he know people watch this stuff live ? The Michael stuff was barely interesting enough to skip a single episode and I'm supposed to still give a crap in January. I can't with this dude

Lucky ? We all know who's taking over if Dabb leaves lol We're screwed unless the Singer dynasty retires.

From TVLine Heh.

They all look lovely. Hope the episode will be worthy of this milestone. I'm just going to pretend BuckLeming were never there.

Yeah it feels like the only way I'm being asked to engage with the cast is by giving my money. And I absolutely include J² in this. Misha is the only one who tries different things. I've completely stopped following this stuff, but at some point a couple of years ago it felt like there were shirt campaigns fucking everywhere. If you were in this fandom six years ago, maybe you remember the Duck Hunt that happened before season 7. It was dumb, absolutely, but also funny, and all you had to do was send a rubber duck to the production offices and they included all of them in a photo with J². I was able to spot mine in it which was cool. They put us fans first and foremost, no money or anything else involved. Nothing of the sort happened again except the cringe-as-fuck reaction compilation from the season 9 finale. Sorry but there's nothing genuine about filming yourself watching when the point is to react as excessively as possible to be included in the video.

Sam and Cass teaming up to find help for Jack while Dean stays by his side honestly had the potential to be a great episode. The material certainly is there. Too bad BuckLeming had to BuckLeming and throw their little pet Nick in there. I mean I think the best combination would be Dean/Cass and Sam/Jack but the show seems very insistent on pretending those bonds never existed in the first place.

I'll give credit to Yockey for something, the way he wrote Charlie is to me a somewhat "realistic" depiction of someone who is from an alternate universe and the affect that has on Sam makes sense : the awkwardness, the fact that he can't forget about old Charlie, and the fact that she's a very different person in many aspects. For some reason they skipped all of that stuff with FakeBobby, Sam and Dean don't seem to give a crap when he's around when they should feel awkward as hell. Don't get me wrong, I still loathe the concept of alternate characters since they're just glorified resurrections and all about that fanservice. Besides Sam ruined all the positives I had gathered before when he forced her to keep hunting, which basically goes against EVERYTHING Sam and Dean ever stood for. I don't know if they want Sam to have an epiphany and realize his stint as Chief Parasite has turned him into an asshole, but he should never behave like that in the first place.

Can't believe I was hopeful at some point that the reduced episode order would somehow help Dabb with pacing and we'd get more Sam/Dean together since it would be like 4 less weeks of work for the guys. Six episodes in it's like the season hasn't even started, and J² get the absolute bare minimum screen time, and separated too, so there's even less stuff to shoot. Honestly if they were so adamant on reducing their work load that much, season should have been cut to 13 episodes.