Supernatural's Season 7 in Review

(1)  Season Recap

After Castiel consumed the souls of Purgatory, his megalomania comes to an end as all the souls are returned to Purgatory, except those of one species. The deadly Leviathan are the monsters for whom God himself created Purgatory, to prevent them from destroying his creation. These creatures possess Castiel’s body and escape into the world. Castiel is not dead for long, as he is brought back to life later in the season, without his sanity. Sam is at his breaking point, unsuccessfully attempting to cope with the visions of Lucifer and the Cage that are plaguing him. Bobby is killed, only to be ultimately put to rest once more in ghost form when he becomes vengeful. Dean, beaten down by the constant suffering and loss that they have faced, is struggling with severe depression, disillusioned with the hunting lifestyle and their fates. The Leviathan take over Richard Roman Enterprises and the Sucracore Corporations with the purpose of breeding fatter and more mentally and emotionally submissive Americans, upon whom they can feed. The Leviathan seem invincible and are only slowed by Borax, but the deciphering of the Word of God by Prophet Kevin Tran reveals the lone method of killing the Leviathans. The Winchesters, Crowley, Meg, and Castiel ultimately kill Dick Roman and the Leviathans, but Dean and Castiel find themselves trapped in Purgatory as well. Crowley has abducted Meg and Kevin, leaving Sam deserted.

(2)  What Worked

The Leviathan were fantastic “Big Bads” for the season, and brought in a refreshing combination of darkness and humor. Dick Roman was a well-written character and brilliantly acted by James Patrick Stuart. It is hard to imagine season 7 having a convincing-enough plot without this specific combination of character writing and acting. While the Dick jokes brought out a recognition of childish but entertaining humor to the viewer, they served a greater purpose of lightening the mood. The jokes draw the audience into the Leviathan as believable and likeable though evil characters, making the season less overwhelming and burdensome in the face of increasingly dark and depressive themes. This notion is also illustrated through other characters in the season, especially Dean and Sam, for the same purpose of balancing out the emotional spectrum of the season.

Humor plays an essential role for this reason, primarily due to the focus on Dean and the juxtaposition of his defeated, broken mindset compared to the mental illnesses that Sam and Cas are facing in this season. All of these are heavy motifs, especially in comparison to the relatively lighter themes of previous seasons. Dean’s self-loathing is at an all time high. He is broken by the idea that he and his loved ones are cursed to a life full of endless pain and destruction. In episode 1, Dean states, “Look at our lives. How many more hits can we take?” Sam is clearly not the only one who is mentally falling apart. He states to his brother in episode 8, "You've been taking care of me your whole life. Not you get to take care of yourself.” This role switch between Sam and Dean makes the season unique and interesting. Instead of Dean taking on his usual role of big brother, protector of Sammy, he is the one that needs care and support. In episode 2, when he thinks Bobby dead after his house is torched, Dean brokenly leaves a voicemail on Bobby’s phone, stating, “You said you'd be here. Where are you?" Due to this precarious mental state, Sam is afraid to tell Dean of his visions of Lucifer, because he cannot risk breaking him further. Sam is the brother who still has hope, and has even come to terms with his past, as depicted in episode 4.

This focus upon Dean is an intriguing aspect to the season. He struggles to deal with what he perceives as the changing world around him. In reality, however, it is he who is changing mentally and emotionally. In episode 3, Dean is confronted by a humanizing story of a monster. He kills Sam’s childhood friend because she is not human: “People are who they are, no matter how hard you try. You are. You will kill again." In episode 4, a ghost kills an animal abuser, who had previously changed his life around and worked to help animal shelters after his conviction. When Sam states in response to this information that "people change," Dean is skeptical. He later exclaims, "When did our black and white case suddenly turn to mud?!" The juxtaposition is clear: different from previous seasons, Dean himself is changing. Sam seeks out cases and wants to solve them, but Dean is tired of hunting and of being beaten down. For once, he does not want to work a case. Dean thinks the world is changing around him, even the line between good and evil, but it is his perspective that is changing.  

(3)  What Didn’t Work

The season lacks the hard core, masculine, “we hunt monsters and kick ass” narrative upon which the show has thrived. This is largely due to the audience’s perception that Dean himself is missing from the season. Because the season focuses upon the older brother, his loss of self is made more apparent. The craft of the season also displays this notion. There is a distinct lack of classic rock music, which is widely identified with the characterization of Dean. The season utilizes silence in a manner that is has not before, with many episodes ending without any music whatsoever, such as 1 and 10, which provides a sense of emptiness. The use of silence actually parallels the emptiness that Dean feels, as well as the seemingly relentless theme of death and destruction in this season. Similarly, the Impala is not utilized for plot purposes, and its absence makes the season feel more off-kilter. This genre of music and the car are vital to the identity of Supernatural, especially to Dean himself. When missing, the show feels like it is missing its integral themes and characters that are largely responsible for the success of the show.

Additionally, not every episode was well thought out, though each one-off, “monster of the week” episode did further the overarching plots of the season in some manner. However, these constant reminders or progressions of the Winchesters or the Leviathans did not always outweigh the episodes that were not as well produced. One of the worst parts of the season is the “Time for a Wedding” episode, due to its critique of Supernatural fans and fandom. This episode slanders passionate fans who comprise Supernatural’s fanbase by distastefully representing them through Becky, the psychotic, obsessive fangirl of the “fictional” book series about the Winchesters’ lives. She drugs and assaults Sam in order to be with him. This fandom commentary is gross and unjust, as well as so negatively exaggerated that it could not have been written for the sole purpose of comedy. If the loveable Charlie character had been inserted into this episode instead of later in the season, it may have balanced out the episode’s fandom critique by representing the positive side of the fandom through her. But they did not. Are the writers actively trying to turn away the fans who are responsible for giving them their ratings and unpaid publicity for the show? While a more reasonable version of the critique may have sufficed and possibly been humorous, the condemnation of Supernatural’s fandom is the worst aspect of season 7.

(4)  Final Thoughts and Observations

The season is a critique of American society, comprised of large and small-scale factors. The smaller discourses appear especially in the first half of the season. These are focused on faulty practices at American hospitals and the Orwellian NSA, as commented upon particularly in episodes 2 and 6 of the season through Sheriff Mills and the government-fearing character of Frank. Larger-scale themes condemn corporate America and the political system. Crowley, King of Hell, says to a contract-breaking demon in episode 8 that such behavior destroys consumer confidence. He exclaims, “This isn’t Wall Street! This is Hell! We have a little something called integrity.” Also prominent are the notion of megalomania and the hypocrisy in politics. Castiel commits mass murder in the name of religion in episode 1. In episode 8, a news reporter remarks that Dick Roman's financial success makes him valid for political office, suggesting that to succeed in politics, one must only be successful in business, even if they have no other qualifications. Even the awful “Time for a Wedding Episode” is a critic upon that aspect of American society: that of fandom and the extent of obsession regarding celebrities.

However, the most pervasive and striking cultural critique of the season is that of American eating habits. The Leviathan capitalize on the copious amounts of unhealthy food eaten by Americans who are uncaring of nutrition and its relationship with their health. The introduction of the Leviathan foreshadows this focus on consumption. In episode 1, Castiel has “consumed” the Purgatory souls. He exemplifies the adage “you are what you eat” by becoming possessed by the Leviathan. Likewise, in the season finale entitled, “Survival of the Fittest,” in which even in the episode’s title is a play upon the theme of health, Dick Roman states that the Leviathans focus upon Americans for their take over because they are “so fat.” The turducken burger in episode 9, combined with episode 23’s creamer that Dick describes as, “The slickest little genocide in history,” are part of a larger discourse regarding nutrition habits and chemical additives poisoning the United States.

            Additionally, the season plays with a clash of reality and fiction, as well as the importance of the relationship of the two brothers. In one example, Crowley tells the boys that he made a deal with Dick to give the brothers the wrong blood needed for the spell to kill the Leviathan. He states, "It's demon, but is it mine?" It is a game of chance and deceptions. However, Sam’s visions of Lucifer are the most apparent examples of the lack of certainty. His visions play with the idea that reality is the fiction. Sam is unsure of whether he is still trapped in the cage and is only envisioning reality. In episode 2, the only way in which Sam overcomes the worst of his psychotic break is by relying on and believing in Dean. His recovery is only made possible by putting his faith in his brother. This heightened importance of the brothers’ relationship only makes season 8 feel more out of place, when Dean feels that Sam abandoned him by not trying to find or save him from Purgatory. Overall, the season’s plot and underlying themes, especially the introduction of the Leviathan and the focus upon Dean’s changing mentality, are well written, but do straddle a fine line between ridiculous and serious within the show’s craft and use of humor, with which it never quite come to terms.