Wednesday, March 2, 2016

8x22 "Clip Show"

My Synopsis

Season 8 episode 22, “Clip Show”, opens with Tommy, a man they rescued from a Wendigo, dying due to his head mysteriously exploding.  Meanwhile Dean as Sam are trying to understand their next step in the trials.  Castiel still struggles with Dean’s anger while trying to reconcile with his brothers and sisters. Metatron talks Castiel into starting trials in order to shut down heaven.  Sam and Dean find a tape in the Men of Letters bunker with a kind of exorcism they have never seen before.  Crowley texts Sam and Dean the locations of people who they have rescued only to find them dropping dead.  He gives them a ultimatum, either stop the trials and give him the demon tablet or he will kill someone they have saved every twelve hours. 

My Review
This episode of Supernatural differs greatly from the rest.  This episode focuses in on the storytelling in an aspect we have never really seen that much.  There is a core story, a side story with Castiel, and a new problem that intersects with the main story but also draws the focus away from the main goal at hand.  This type of story format does well due to its heavy emphasis on exploring each character’s psyche. 

When we first see Dean and Castiel interact in this episode it is very apparent that Dean is angry and has not forgiven Castiel for his mistake.  Dean later goes on to say that if he was not friends with Castiel he would’ve killed him for what he did.  I find this unsettling as although Castiel did not make a good decision he still was well intentioned.  This episode does leave me very frustrated with Dean once again as he has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to mistakes that usually resorts to him wanting to kill whoever has messed up.  Dean relies too much on his emotions as he is too angry to speak respectfully to Castiel but too emotionally invested in him on a friendship level to kill him like he would any other monster.  This is a complex problem that Dean has faced with not only Castiel but Sam and other monsters they have met along the way as well.

Watching Sam’s interactions in this episode is very depressing.  The viewer can tell that he is tired but not in the traditional sleep needing sense.  He seems emotionally fatigued and ready for their current mission to come to an end.  When he coughs up blood in the church we can see that trials are also taking a physical toll on him.  He is deteriorating before our eyes yet he seems at peace.  He seems as though once he can close the gates of Hell for good everything will be alright.  He also seems as though he knows it will be the end for him if he completes the trials.  Sam has always been at peace with being the martyr.  I think this is due to the stress of hunting but also Sam thinks that if he can give himself up in order for it to be the end-all-be-all of evil he will do it without a doubt.

This episode also does well with its portrayal of Abaddon.  She is disclosed to be the demon in the possession tapes as well as the demon who killed the priest from the tapes.  I think is a very shocking reveal as both times I have watched this episode I have been surprised.  When she mention she knew Crowley I thought that was a good writing choice.  It also gives us more information on Crowley being a salesman- working himself up the ladder to be king.  Though I have to admit I don’t quite understand how Abaddon was able to manipulate to severed hand in order to remove the bullet and escape.  Since the bullet had the devil’s trap engraved it should have stopped any demon-like activity from occurring; such as a severed hand moving of its own volition in an Adam’s Family like style.  Perhaps because it hand was not attached to the body the devil’s trap didn’t work?  However if that’s the case then how does the devil’s trap work exactly?  Does it block demon-like brain waves?  And how did the hand move?  Is it because it had a little piece of Abaddon in it? Maybe it’s just me but I feel like the severed hand thing broke some rules.  If I am wrong feel free to correct or explain this to me.

Overall I did enjoy this episode as it told the story by giving viewers glimpses of what they are currently going through.  I felt the pacing was a bit slow but it does fit cohesively into season 7’s main themes and plotlines.   Additionally, I enjoyed the bit of background information we learn about the bunker while Sam and Dean are researching.  “Clip Show” was a good filler and finale set up episode.

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