Episode: Supernatural 8.22 – “Clip Show”
Original Air Date: May 8, 2013
Screencaps by spn-caps
As we count down to the finale, we get the return of a few characters from way back and a promise that Crowley will stop at nothing to get his way. It’s going to be a race to the finish and the outcome is still unclear. Will the boys succeed in closing the gates of Hell forever? Or will the King of Hell remain large and in charge?
Note: This recap may contain spoilers!
I already knew that some familiar faces would be popping up this week, thanks to Twitter and IMDB. However, how they would play into the overall arc was not known until the actual airing. We started off the episode with Tommy, who we last saw in Season One’s episode “Wendigo.” Even after all these years, he’s still traumatized by what happened to him. Then again, I would be, too. And if I had such a near-death encounter in the woods, I wouldn’t be rushing back there anytime soon. When he finally does get back out there, it’s only to be met with a bloody death that was probably more violent than being a Wendigo snack-toy, thanks to Crowley. The demon has set in place a plan to blackmail the boys into returning the demon tablet to him. Tommy was victim number one.
Victim number two, and the reason Sam and Dean found out about Crowley’s plot, was Jenny. You remember her, the lovely near-victim that was choking down the blood-filled cupcake in “Shut Up, Doctor Phil.” Turns out she should have stayed away from the kitchen because, when the Winchesters get to her place, all they find is a burned corpse. Victim two, down for the count. And Crowley promises that he will keep it up. All the people the boys saved over the years, they’re all in danger. Crowley will kill one of them every twelve hours until the boys bring him the demon tablet. And off the Winchesters go to try and save the next victim of Crowley’s sadistic little plan. That’s when things hit home even more.
Hello, Sarah Blake. Yep, Sam’s love interest from the Season One episode “Provenance” was back again. The years have definitely served her and Sam differently. Sam’s been through so much over the past eight years: dying and coming back to life, becoming addicted to demon blood and starting the apocalypse, dying again and having no soul, having a mental breakdown and going through a current physical breakdown. For all of that, though, he is essentially in the same place as when he and Sarah went their separate ways — still on the road with his brother, hunting things and saving people. Sarah, on the other hand, has got a normal life. She has a job, a husband, and even a family. But none of those things can save her when the supernatural comes calling, even if Sam and Dean do their best to protect her. As we’ve learned many times before, getting involved with the Winchesters will surely mean your death.
And for all the trauma that Crowley’s killing has caused, the boys have even more to deal with. They still need to cure a demon, and actually had a lead on that before they were pulled away by Crowley. The boys have an exorcism, they have visual evidence it might have worked, so all they needed was a demon to try it out on. But why go searching for a demon when they already had one stashed away? And, so, with Dean’s brilliant plan in place, they went about sewing Abaddon back together sans hands. Though, that’s not likely going to stop her when she puts her mind to something, so when the boys were distracted by Crowley, she called her hands to her and escaped. Now they’ve got Abaddon on the loose, Crowley on the hunt, and no guarantee that they’re coming out of this alive.
Yes, that would have been enough to carry any episode, but we’ve also got the plot of Cas and the angel tablet going on. He’s back, he wants Dean’s forgiveness, but this time Dean’s not so quick to give it to him. For that, I commend him, because it’s about time! Every single instance where Cas thought he was acting in everyone’s best interest has ended up screwing the boys over. I’m sure the angel is sorry for what he’s done, but he’s going to have to do a whole lot of groveling to get back in Dean’s good graces. First act is to buy all of Dean’s favorite things: snack foods, porn, and pie. His mission is cut short, though, when Metatron calls him for a little chat and a not-so-little mission of his own. The boys are going to shut the gates of Hell, so why not have Cas shut the gates of Heaven? It would force the family drama going on upstairs to stay contained and maybe the angels will work out their troubles. Good plan, but it feels like it’s coming much too late. Is Cas going to complete all his remaining trials in the finale? Because that’s the timeline we’re looking at here. I would be perfectly fine if both Heaven and Hell were cut off from Earth, since it would lead to some interesting storylines for next year, but I just don’t want to rush into them because of the pacing we’re being given.
So, as we go into the finale, everything’s up in the air. Will the boys complete the trials and live to see the mission through? Will Cas succeed in shutting the gate to Heaven and will he start to get de-energized when that happens? And are we really going to say goodbye to the devilishly manipulative Crowley? Only one more episode to find out!
Rating: 4 / 5 Stars
