S09.E18: Meta Fiction

[Guest]

Metatron attempts to get Castiel to join forces with him. Still furious with Metatron, Castiel refuses, which sets a surprising plan in motion. Meanwhile, Sam and Dean capture Gadreel.

[Jediknight]

Finally!  I've been waiting 4 freaking years for that.  The Trickster/Gabriel was back!  When Cas started watching Casa Erotica I got my hopes up, and then when Trickster appeared, that was awesome.  And despite it being Metatron's doing they left it open for Trickster to still be alive.

I like Metatron's love of stories.  It's always been the best thing about him.

I really don't care what else happened this episode, we got the return of The Trickster.  Because of that alone, I love everybody.

[hermitme]

Gabriel being alive is going to be the mystery, if the show even remembers it. LOL

I loved how Cas smiled when he heard Dean's voice over the phone.  All in all, it was a rather slow episode, kind of disjointed, as if the writer really wasn't sure where to go with the stories. Either that, or the editor has no idea what he's doing.

Oh, and the shower scene was way, waaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy too short! WTH?  Way to tease the fans and fall short on the delivery.

Edited April 16, 2014 by hermitme

[catrox14]

I'm totally confused by Metatron, who I hate with the fire of every sun in every universe in every alternate universe ever.   Ugh.

But I am now officially scared for Dean.  The fact that Cas is freaked out about the Mark of Cain can't be a good thing.  Dean is changing. Jensen seems to be infusing Dean with something I've not seen before. When he's slipping into the effects of the MoC he doesn't quite sound like Dean and he doesn't quite carry himself the same way.  But man, that look on his face when he was in the hallway after nearly not killing Gadreel,  I was gutted. He's suffering and confused. And I'm sure he's starting to regret it somewhere in his mind.  But man Jensen is just terrific and it's beautiful.

I couldn't help but ping on a bit of dialogue from Gadreel about Dean being invincible. And the reiteration of the idea of Dean being unable to be alone. I don't think that was for nothing. I have a terrible feeling this will end up with Dean being immortal and terribly alone roaming the earth.  They wouldn't do that to him would they? 

Oh, and the shower scene was way, waaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy too short! WTH?  Way to tease the fans and fall short on the delivery.

 

I'm grateful we got that.  Jensen is such a tease. He knows exactly how much to give us to keep us wanting more.

Edited April 16, 2014 by catrox14

[mertensia]

Metatron is playing Alastair Cooke hosting Masterpiece Theater! Plus the change in the opening credits was a hoot.

Sam, you need to have a little chat with Cas about what, exactly, the Mark of Cain is doing to Dean.

Oh, Gadreel. You schlubb. Dean has heard worse. From nearly everyone.

[Morrigan2575]

I liked it, I'm glad they left the door open that the real Gabriel might be alive somewhere.  I loved how the actor played Gabriel, at first he came across as Gabriel/Trickster but as he was on screen he slowly started to sound off to the point that I (sadly) realized it wasn't real.

I also really enjoy Tahmoh Penikett's performance as Gadreel, he's much better in the role than JP.  I like all the layers we're getting with Gadreel now.  It was obvious in the Dean/Gadreel scene that at least part it was self motivated, not only did he want to die but he was it was his own fear of being left alone that he was projecting onto Dean.  I also found the talk at the end between Gadreel/Metatron to be really interesting, I kept waiting for one of them to betray the other.

I'm still not really feeling Castiel's story this season, I just don't care that much about the Angels but I liked his interaction with both Sam and Dean, especially the end scene where he figured out the Mark of Cain.

 

[Jenn]

I really enjoyed this episode.  For the first time in a while with this show, I feel like we are giong SOMEWHERE.  I just hope I can trust the writers to like where that is. 

I really feel like they are giving Jensen and Misha good material to work with, and they are both stepping up and taking off with the material.  

And what the heck is up with the Metatron not knowing how to correctly spell Cas?  

[SueB]

 

And what the heck is up with the Metatron not knowing how to correctly spell Cas?

Per Robbie Thompson (the episode writer), the writers use Cass, the fandom uses Cas. 

[catrox14]

I don't understand why the writers use Cass not Cas, I mean there is only one S in Castiel.  Why add another one?  I wonder how Misha spells it.

[SueB]

 

I don't understand why the writers use Cass not Cas, I mean there is only one S in Castiel.  Why add another one?  I wonder how Misha spells it.

Robbie Thompson rationale:  His name is Robert Thompson (1 b), but goes by Robbie (2 b's).

[NoWillToResist]

I feel incredibly stupid asking this, but...why does Metatron still have his wings? Were we ever told why he was apparently immune to the spell that was cast on all angels?

So, is Metatron now God v. 3.0? He who has the magic typewriter or <insert meme>ALL THE SOULS<end meme> gets to be God? Maybe Cas should just re-open Purgatory, gobble up all the souls again and throw-down with Metatron. Two Gods enter...One God leaves.. ;)

Can anyone explain what happened between the daylight hostage exchange and the nighttime parting of ways? Did those scenes happen at two different motels? I'm kind of pissed that we haven't had any TFW interaction since fucking January (IIRC) and then their screen time was pared down here to, like, 2 minutes. ARGH!

[catrox14]

 

Robbie Thompson rationale:  His name is Robert Thompson (1 b), but goes by Robbie (2 b's).

But Cas/Cass isn't Cass-ie.  Anyway, I guess we need a nitpick and annoyance thread!

[Guest]

I feel incredibly stupid asking this, but...why does Metatron still have his wings? Were we ever told why he was apparently immune to the spell that was cast on all angels?

I just figured that since he, Metatron, cast the spell he was immune.  This is a guess on my part.

[Mcolleague]

I'm guessing since Metatron wrote the angel tablets, which Kevin never finished translating, he has a bunch of deus ex machina tricks up his sleeves? *insert eyeroll*  

And the whole, downloading all his knowledge of stories into Cas... Really? Noone cares that knowledge is power and all that? And he decide to do this all because Cas was not understanding his references? If this turns out to be an important plot point to Cas overthrowing him, I will be rolling my eyes soooo hard. 

[dr pepper]

Hmm, let's see.

The Winchesters discover that they're in a series of fantasy adventure novels.

Then they discover the fanfic, including the slash, including the Wincest. Then they meet their most perverted fan, who writes the Wincest.

Then they run into a Supernatural convention, and end up larping as themselves.

Then they end up in a parallel world where, guess what? They're a tv show!

This week: a recurring character takes control of the episode, writing the script himself.

What next? My prediction: live interactive webisode where the audience votes on major plot points.

[bluebonnet]

I'm guessing since Metatron wrote the angel tablets, which Kevin never finished translating, he has a bunch of deus ex machina tricks up his sleeves? *insert eyeroll*  

And the whole, downloading all his knowledge of stories into Cas... Really? Noone cares that knowledge is power and all that? And he decide to do this all because Cas was not understanding his references? If this turns out to be an important plot point to Cas overthrowing him, I will be rolling my eyes soooo hard. 

The only big deus ex machina was Metatron blowing out the holy fire.  It's the only thing we hadn't seen before.  It was surprising the boys were shocked that Metatron erased the angel warding since he did that when he went to rescue Kevin from Crowley.  Putting someone in an alternate reality or even stopping reality has been done several times by angels so his Gabriel skit wasn't anything new. So just the holy fire blowout.  Still, I think it makes sense that the tablets have information on them that could be useful for the species the tablet is about.  

I think giving Cas all that book knowledge will be what comes back to bite Met in the butt.  But I think it wouldn't have until Met started giving the 'rules to writer's club'.  To me, it seemed the ending of the episode might have represented Cas following rule 1 by stealing from the best.  

[SueB]

Well said System Remote.  I think you are right about Cas' motivation. He's doing what Metatron wants but that doesn't mean he's dancing to Metatron's tune. 

[LittleIggy]

I'm tired of Metatron. I can't stand the actor playing him. No charisma unlike the actor who plays Crowley. He isn't 't anything to look at either but is highly watchable.

[mertensia]

Lots of nicknames have letters that don't appear in the name: Elizabeth has Betty, Betsy, Lilibet and Lisa among others. Mary has Molly and Polly and Mamie. Cass for Castiel doesn't bother me a bit.

[SueB]

http://tippitv.tumblr.com/post/83339640202/recap-supernatural-meta-fiction

Tippi's recap for refugees

Edited April 21, 2014 by SueB

[omelas]

Why doesn't Dean have his tattoo anymore?  Did I miss something because I didn't see it during the shower scene.

[DittyDotDot]

I don't really remember in the shower itself--maybe it washed off ;)--but in front of the mirror he had it.

[SueB]

 

Why doesn't Dean have his tattoo anymore?  Did I miss something because I didn't see it during the shower scene.

Outing my OCD on this:

- He had it still.  In the shower scene the camera doesn't pan down far enough (dammit!) -- although at that angle, pulling back a little when Dean's head was facing up would have put this show on HBO. At the mirror scene, the mirror is foggy but you can kind of see the blue/grey tinge in the mirror on his chest.  In the promo where the camera is APPROPRIATELY PULLED BACK (thankyouverymuch....ahem), he's clearly got it on.

[DittyDotDot]

I just realized Robbie Thompson likes to add "Fiction" to many of his episode titles...does he think we aren't aware that it's fiction? ;)

 

I've been really noticing all the mirrors this season more than I did last. It's always been a theme of Supernatural, but after Sonny told Dean he needed to make sure the person looking back at him in the mirror is someone he wanted to see in Bad Boys, I've noticed Dean has been looking at them more than usual. It's a nice little subtle through-line, so kudos show.

 

Also, kudos to Richard Spleight...he was just a little off in this episode. He had the funny lines, but his delivery was slightly less...I don't know...quippy? Of course, this time I was aware he wasn't real from the get-go, so I noticed some of the subtleties better this time around. Oh and by the way, I am delighted to see Gabriel again, even if he wasn't real. And, I like to believe he's actually still in witness protection...yes, I do like my deluded self quite fine, thank you very much.

 

Okay, I don't really like Marvatron and haven't really been drawn to Curtis Armstrong as such, but I have to admit, the Masterpiece Theater gag at the beginning absolutely delights me. The rest of not-so-marvy-Marvs parts, meh. And, I really want to love the Winchester side of things, but it really does nothing for me in the end. Maybe because I always find it hilarious that angels always hit their mark and stand perfectly still in order to be trapped in a ring of holy fire...okay, that's not why, but it's still kinda funny, IMO. I just don't care for how torture is portrayed on this show and wish they'd stop trying to act cool with it.

 

So at then end of the episode...it's a rather mixed bag for me. I'm sorry Robbie Thompson, I really want to embrace your trying to be creative and original and I do give you a big bag of kudos for changing up their stale episode format complete with a lovely musical interlude at the end...but I'm not sure if I would call it a win. How about a draw, then?

 

The good to end on: Gabriel has some especially zippy and fun one-liners.

• Ohhh, you know hither with a side of yon.
• Yeah, but I got hurt in the fall, too, used most of my juice to get back into porn...That came out wrong...So did that.
• They're sheep, drones. But us? We're different. We're rebels... one without a 'cause, one with.
• Oh, cry me a river. Look, I dropped. I hid. I finally watched Downton Abbey.
• I lied before. I never watched Downton Abbey. I was just trying to fit in.
• Ah, crap. I really hate continuity errors.
• Sorry... didn't read the whole script, just, uh, skimmed for my parts

Edited February 2, 2015 by DittyDotDot

[Goldmoon]

Mostly I liked this because I can always use some Cas and Gabriel was fun.  But Cas needs to stick with the Winchesters and always, and I mean always, ask them what they think of his latest plan.  This is not going to end well for him.  As much as  I like Cas, he is right.  He is not a good leader.  He is too easily swayed by others with more forceful personalities.  I wish Dean had just killed Hilo/Gadreel.  I guess he will die closer to the end of the season.  Re the Shower Scene:  I was looking for the angel handprint on Dean's shoulder and didn't see it.  Do we have confirmation that it isn't there any more?  Was it somehow erased when Dean returned from Purgatory?

[DittyDotDot]

Yeah, back in S6, they forgot to put the hand scar on Dean in The Third Man. Later when asked about it at a con, Jensen provided the theory all Dean's scars and such were healed when Cass healed him at the end of Swan Song. We haven't seen it since, as far as I know.

Edited March 24, 2015 by DittyDotDot

[Goldmoon]

That's too bad.  I would love the symmetry of an angel handprint on his shoulder and the MoC farther down the same arm.

[RulerofallIsurvey]

I was actually falling asleep trying to watch this last night.  I had to rewind several scenes when I realized I'd nodded off.  So I'll probably rewatch before I go on to the next one.  But a few thoughts:

• The less Metatron the better.  Especially Metatron as Author/God.  Ew.  No.  Just No.
• [sigh]
• Gadreel seemed different - even different from before he possessed Sam.  At least before he seemed like he wanted to truly redeem himself.  Now, he was just another angel dick.  They made him infinitely more boring.
• And in the end, Cas did just want Metatron wanted him to do.  Can you say Stupid?  I knew you could.
• Characterization of Cas has been really bugging me the last few eps also - when he's been on at least.  The other angels have talked about how Cas did all these wonderful, heroic things way back in the past (antiquity, it seems) and he was apparently very smart and savvy when it came to battles.  But now?  Cas ain't so bright.  I guess he's suffering from Winchester Brain Damage by association.
• Were Sam and Dean even in this episode?  

ETA:

Okay, I rewatched tonight.  Turns out I didn't miss that much.  Mainly I rewatched the Sam and Dean parts and that didn't take long.  Not much else to add.  But after the way Sam acted to Dean a few episodes ago, I don't think he has the right to act all concerned now.  Unless it's just about the partnership dissolving and Dean not being able to pull his own weight.  Which, after Season 8, wouldn't surprise me.  Gack, I am really not liking Sam that much right now.  Not at all.  

Edited August 11, 2016 by RulerofallIsurvey
rewatch

[DittyDotDot]

Little tip Cass, my boy, when someone play-acting as God wants you to do something, it's never a good idea to do it.

Gotta say, this episode gets worse and worse in my eyes every time I see it. I think it might be a little too meta. Loved seeing Gabriel again, though, that was fun.

Oh, and by the way show, it matters, to me, how we get there, thank you very much! Yeah, a little too meta... .

Edited October 5, 2016 by DittyDotDot

[bettername2come]

I like the trick with the credits. DEAN IN THE SHOWER! DEAN IN THE SHOWER! I love Cas's little smile when discussing the honor bar with Dean. They said Hill Valley! I want to know more about the Hunter shopowners. I've liked the little bits that pop up. Gabriel! "I lied before.  I never watched Downton Abbey. I was just trying to fit in." "I really hate continuity errors." I'm always kind of torn on Metatron's statements about writing. On the one hand, a lot of what he says rings true with my story-loving self. On the other hand, he's acting as mouthpiece for the authors and I don't like that when the writing isn't good enough to justify the superior attitude. Pretty clip of Impala driving in sunset in that final montage. 

[Hanahope]

Going to be interesting to see how they can defeat god, since Metatron can pretty much do anything. 

I do hope Gabriel is actually still alive, the actor does such a fun job with the role. 

[Iju]

i don't even know how they do it, but they can. they make the hatred of the current villain surpass the previous one. I NEED TO HAVE META DIE IN MORE THAN A SIMPLE STAB IN THE GUT.

abadouche. yeah i'm totally using that now.

i don't like seeing the boys separate from cass. i need my trio together :( hard to even imagine i loathed cass' first appearance.

On 4/15/2014 at 10:20 PM, hermitme said:

Oh, and the shower scene was way, waaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy too short! WTH?  Way to tease the fans and fall short on the delivery.

 i didn't get much from the scene except that jensen has some longass eyelashes! sad that women have to resort to makeup and all sorts of concoctions to get to the level men have naturally. 

Edited August 22, 2018 by Iju

[The Companion]

On 4/16/2014 at 2:53 AM, mertensia said:

Metatron is playing Alastair Cooke hosting Masterpiece Theater! Plus the change in the opening credits was a hoot.

Sam, you need to have a little chat with Cas about what, exactly, the Mark of Cain is doing to Dean.

Oh, Gadreel. You schlubb. Dean has heard worse. From nearly everyone.

Including himself. 

GABRIEL. I miss the trickster and don't care how they justify if if they bring him back.

Metatron still confuses me in the sense that he didn't seem to be planning any of this until he was tracked down. But he does make for a different and interesting villain to me, personally. I mean, i want terrible things to happen to him, but he does feel different.

[rhofmovalley]

So Metatron decided to show us Dean in the shower? I guess I should send him a fruit basket or something. Because Dean in the shower resulted in some very enjoyable dreams.

Ahem.

I actually like Curtis Armstrong. Maybe because Revenge of the Nerds (the original) is my favorite movie. 

[FlickChick]

7 hours ago, rhofmovalley said:

I actually like Curtis Armstrong. Maybe because Revenge of the Nerds (the original) is my favorite movie. 

I mentioned elsewhere in the forum that I was very impressed with Curtis when he appeared at a ChiCon. He told us how he looked into the intentions of the character before he could formulate how he would play him. (knowing it was an ongoing part) And that he loved the character!!! Too bad our writers took less interest in how they portrayed our characters than he did in his new role.