Supernatural is back! Season 11 was one hell of a rollercoaster, so before we start talking about the newest episode, let’s have a quick recap!
The Road So Far
We met Amara aka The Darkness (Emily Swallow), who turned out to be the sister of God himself. God locked her away eons ago to protect his creation. She came back with a vengeance, doing everything in her power to draw God out of hiding. The Mark of Cain gave her a unique bond with Dean Winchester, though, which granted him immunity to some of her powers. Fans welcomed the return of Mark Pellegrino as Lucifer, but that was short lived as Castiel became Lucifer’s new vessel. Rob Benedict also returned as Chuck Shurley and was finally confirmed/revealed to be God!
Long story short, the Winchesters, God and his angels, Lucifer, Crowley and even Rowena and her little coven stepped in to take down Amara. The Darkness almost killed God. Dean stepped up and became a Soul Bomb to take her out. But like everything in Supernatural, it all came back down to family. In the season finale, Chuck and Amara reunited and stopped fighting. Sam was apprehended by a mysterious Woman of Letters. She blasted Castiel away with an Angel banishing sigil, then shot Sam. Amara left a gift for Dean. She brought Mary Winchester back from the dead.
Now
Season 12 episode 1 starts off exactly where we left off. Mary Winchester is resurrected and confused. Dean tries to explain to her about who he is. He tells her stories passed on to him by his Dad about how John and Mary first met. It’s really emotional as Dean tries to convince her, and Mary has flashbacks about her death. She realises who he is and they hug. Emotional as it is, Dean seems really calm and level headed about the whole thing. Meanwhile, Castiel shoots across the countryside like a comet. He steals a truck from a guy on the side of the road who thinks he’s an alien and rushes back to the bunker.
We also get quick glimpse into the fate of Lucifer and Crowley. Crowley is tracking Lucifer, who is leaving a trail of burned out vessels behind him. He’s following two demons, including a comical one who spent way too much time possessing a 14 year old girl. They mock him when he reveals his plan to kill Lucifer, so he kills them.
Dean and Mary head back to the bunker, and discover blood on the floor. Castiel arrives at the same time. He sees Dean and gives him a huge hug, delighted that he’s still alive. He explains about Sam, so Dean gets on the laptop and starts hacking traffic cameras to see if he can find any trace of them. Mary is bewildered by the laptop. Understandable, she’s been dead since 1983.
This episode focuses completely on Mary. It’s full of nostalgia, and stays grounded. No huge evil forces, no big bad. There’s a beautiful moment where Mary is reunited with Baby. She leans in the car window and starts to reminisce with a mischievous look on her face. Dean, leaning in the other side, quickly realises what she’s remembering about the back seat of the car.
Sam on the other hand, is now tied up in the back of a car with a bullet in his leg. The woman from the Men of Letters London chapter, Lady Toni Bevell (Elizabeth Blackwell), has captured him. She forces a local vet to remove the bullet, then secures Sam to a chair. Lady Bevell starts to question him. He’s defiant as ever, refusing to answer her questions. When she threatens him, he laughs it off saying, “I’ve been tortured by the Devil himself. You? You’re just an accent in a pants suit. What can you do to me?”. Of course, her and her associate Watt try to torture him to make him talk, using ice cold water, then burning him with a blowtorch.
Lady Bevell explains that the British Men of Letters have kept Britain safe from any monster related incidents for years. Monsters trying to get in are killed within an hour of their arrival. They want to do the same with America, remarking that American hunters are really bad at their jobs.
Lady Bevell injects Sam with some kind of hallucinogen, saying they’ll break his mind instead. In a seemingly heartbreaking scene, we see Sam having visions and hearing voices, Dean’s voice in particular telling him he’s a freak, it’s all his fault, he needs to die. It’s very reminiscent of when Sam went crazy from visions of Lucifer back in season 7. Lady Bevell watches on as Sam smashes a mirror and slits his own throat. But don’t worry! It was a ruse to get her to come down to him, he didn’t really slit his throat. He makes an escape attempt, but he underestimates her and remains trapped.
Cas and Mary bond over being confused by the modern world. Mary is really distraught, not only is she lost in the future, she’s upset that her boys ended up being hunters after all. She didn’t want this for them, which is why she left the life in the first place. She has to step back into it though, as Dean and Castiel are overpowered by Watt, Mary kills her with an angel blade. The episode ends on a melancholic note, with a lot of things unresolved.
Season 12 has left us with a lot of questions still unanswered but the return of Mary has so far been handled amazingly. It’s also unclear what the Men of Letters really plan to do with the Winchesters, but it will be fun to find out!
Did you enjoy this episode? Let us know in the comments!
