Post — Aaron Ngo

Major Spoilers are included in this episode review. Please read with caution.

Seeing Team Free Will 2.0 act like concerned fathers was the best thing to come out of Jack’s existence. The effectiveness of having Jack die in the opening scene was a risky move, but one that Supernatural can afford to take. Castiel and Dean are devastated, but it’s Sam who loses his cool and goes off somewhere. He goes lumberjack on his own and fails to create the hunter’s funeral. Sam’s grief went off the rails… and the boys also drink in Jack’s honor.

However, Jack’s story is far from over. We see him in Heaven reliving his best memories with Team Free Will 2.0. His half-angel side “wakes” him up from the illusion, and he decides to go meet the one person he never got the chance to know: his mother.

Kelly Kline and Jack get the chance to bond as mother-daughter in her Heaven space. She is horrified to learn that Jack died under Castiel’s protection but also happy that she can see him all grown up. It’s a bittersweet reunion… that gets interrupted by The Shadow.

The Empty descends on Heaven—called The Shadow—to claim Jack’s soul as its property. Two angels are attacked when Castiel arrives to retrieve Jack and teams up with the angel Duma to save Heaven from falling. Naomi warns them again if Heaven falls, then all the billions of souls will fall onto Earth.

The Shadow almost claims Jack, but Castiel offers himself in his place. The Empty agrees to take Castiel but not immediately. It wants to wait until Castiel is completely happy to rip him back to nothingness. This deal echoes what Dean did all the way back in Season Two… now Castiel has a timer on his life.

The repercussions of Castiel’s deal will most likely affect the battle against Alt. Michael. Jack and Castiel do not tell the Winchesters about the deal, but this will bite them in the asses for sure. If Castiel dies, he needs to stay dead. The whole coming back to life was pushing it, but after Season 13 and his “John Snow” fake out… I think the show needs to steer away from using it.

Sam and Dean work with Lily Sunder, the angel killer from Season 12, to resurrect Jack and cure him of the illness at the same time. If Jack uses a piece of his soul to sustain his body in place of the grace, then he’ll live through the illness that killed him in the first place. All she wants in exchange is a guaranteed trip to Heaven.

However, after a talk with Anubis… who determines where souls go, Lily doesn’t want to go through with the deal. I’m not sure how I feel about Anubis being incorporated into the lore, but at this point, I guess I’ll go with it. Supernatural has a tendency to ignore continuity or forget about it. In the end, Lily decides to help Jack and dies in the progress… this good act shifts her “point system” and gets her into Heaven to reunite with her dead daughter.

Alternate Michael is coming next week for the mid-season finale. I can’t believe how much time we spent not worrying about the Archangel building a Monster Army. This current season went in an unexpected and completely different direction than I anticipated, especially with how the show approached Nick/Lucifer.

I’m betting Dean is going to get possessed by Alternate Michael again. He found a way to super power himself and bypass his need for Dean’s permission. I can’t see Dean saying yes again to the Archangel under any circumstances not involving Sam.

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