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the-trashy-phoenix · 3 years

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Supernatural season 7 review (part 2)

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I think season seven is one of my least favorite (if not the least), for different reasons (although it contains several elements that I love). It begins with Castiel having all the souls of purgatory within him and practically making him a god. This power makes him very arrogant (and completely crazy) and so he begins making disasters on earth and in paradise (he kills many angels and humans who disagree with his views), while Dean thinks there is nothing they can do to stop him and Sam (ignoring the hallucinations caused by the breaking of the wall that protected him from memories of the period in hell) hopes to make Castiel reason. The new power does not last long, because Cas realizes that he cannot hold all those souls, and so, coming to his senses and finally realizing that he was wrong, he asks Dean for help so he can send souls back to purgatory. They succeed, but the Leviathans, still present in Castiel, take over and, after taking total control, decide to immerse themselves in the water that arrives at the city, in order to get into bodies of those who drink it. After Castiel plunges into the river, what remains of him appears to be only his trench coat, which Dean retains.

The enemy of this season is not one of my favorites, probably because after the apocalypse a pack of monsters does not seem to live up to it. I must admit, however, that they are difficult to defeat and so a real threat: there seems to be nothing to kill them and in addition they have the power to mutate into the body of the victims who they eat (and therefore not to be recognized). The real problem is that they are everywhere and they are also on the same team, they have a specific purpose: to dominate men (and eat them), without them even noticing. And they also do it pretty well towards the end of the season, especially since Sam and Dean don't know how to defeat them for most of the season (as usual). One of the best aspects of these enemies is their leader, both as a character himself and for his name, Dick, which allowed a series of rather stupid puns to be inserted. Plus the fact that leviathans can be hurt by detergent doesn't seem like one of the show's brightest ideas (but at least that episode, 07x06, gave us a little more of Jody). Luckily what can send them away for good isn't just a bit of detergent: Sam and Dean discover that there is a tablet, created by God's scribe, Metatron, which contains the formula that would allow them to send leviathans back to purgatory.

Thanks to this new element we meet two characters that I deeply love. In episode 07x20 Charlie, a computer and technology expert who works at Dick's company, finds herself catapulted into the Winchesters' world and realizes she has to help them defeat her boss. Charlie is by far one of my favorite characters, and probably the female character I love the most. Her funny and sweet personality, her relationship with the brothers (especially Dean) and the fact that she represents the first (and of some importance) explicit LGBT+ character lead me to always want her on the screen, I believe that just showing her in an episode makes it deserving of being watched. I would have liked her to become one of the main characters and a real sister of the Winchesters, as she will be defined later.

Kevin appears in the next episode as the classic stereotype of the intelligent asian boy, who is one of the best school students. We discover that he is the new prophet of God and that he is the only one who can read Metatron's table, and for this reason he immediately becomes someone wanted by angels, demons, leviathans and Winchesters. Unfortunately for him he is then trapped in this new reality, with the misfortune of being even one of the most important people on earth. The thing I like about Kevin is that he never wanted any of that and still doesn't want it in the following seasons: his life becomes miserable since he learns that he is a prophet and is looking forward to returning to normality, continuing not to accept his fate.

In season seven, a character, Bobby, especially emerges, due to his death in episode 07x10, which I consider one of the saddest and most emotional of the entire show. He's shot by Dick in the head in the previous episode and in this one, totally aimed at Bobby, we discover many more aspects of his past, like the relationship with his parents, his wife, Rufus and Sam and Dean (reminding us again to be a way better father than John). When the reaper asks him if he wants to stay on earth like a ghost or leave forever he decides to stay to help the Winchesters and so we have the opportunity to see him in the next episodes in the form of a ghost, in which, while helping the brothers, he loses more and more control because of his anger at Dick and finally decides to leave in the episode (07x23). Bobby is one of my favorite characters, so I was very sorry to see him die, especially knowing that it would destroy the two protagonists, but I think episode 10 is one of the best of the season. The thing I appreciated the least is the fact that he came back as a ghost: it almost seems to me as if the creators were afraid to abandon him totally and in addition I think that Bobby never wanted to be a ghost and that therefore this decision is a little out of character. Rationality aside, I loved seeing Bobby more after his death.

This season Sam is my favorite brother, probably because Dean does a series of fucked up things I don't agree with. I think his mental state after Castiel broke the wall that protected him from the memories of hell is one of the most interesting aspects of the season. Initially the hallucinations seem to take over and Sam can't figure out what's real and what's not (07x02), but thanks to Dean, in a particularly touching moment between the brothers, he manages to distinguish reality from the image of Lucifer that haunts him. Although in the early moments Sam hides the gravity of the situation from Dean and Bobby, I love how he opens up more easily afterwards and that he's pretty honest when Dean asks him how he's doing (proving to be much more open than his brother once again). In general I also like the dynamic established with Lucifer's return between him and Sam (because as much as I regret Sam being in that horrible situation I love Lucifer's personality this season). In recent episodes the situation becomes unbearable and we see a Sam totally tired and destroyed by these hallucinations that become more and more suffocating and persistent. Dean doesn't know what to do, he sends him to a mental hospital and seeks help in every way until he finds Castiel.

The angel appears for a short time in this season, but still leaves his impact. In the first two episodes we see him as "Godstiel" and, although I like this out-of-control and eccentric side and some of his quotes like "I am indifferent to sexual orientation", in episode 07x01, it's one of his versions that I prefer the least. I don't like to see Castiel, who rebelled against heaven out of love (whether it's for humanity or for Dean, or both, doesn’t really matter right now), totally lose this aspect in his personality and become a god full of himself who has no interest in the people he once loved. A much better version emerges when Dean finds him as Emmanuel, the man he becomes after losing his memory and being found by a woman whose he becomes her husband, and helps him remembering who he is. Castiel thinks he can no longer make up for the mistakes he made, but this time Dean defends him and encourages him to stay to make up for what he did, especially to have hurt Sam in a way that seems irreparable. However, he manages to "take his mental condition" and transverse it to himself. Castiel is also shocked by the hallucinations and all the Winchesters can do is to leave him in the hospital, with Meg, now kind of part of the team, who oversees the situation. The relationship between the two is more consolidated (from the kiss he had in season six) and I think Meg really feels a form of love for Castiel (while I think the angel feels simple affection). In the last episodes Castiel shows himself as a kind of very naïve and innocent pacifist, but he hides a strong fear of confrontation and of making terrible mistakes again. That's why he always tries to avoid fights and struggles between people and has no intention of returning to the field to defeat the Leviathans. This version of Castiel is cute, though not one of my favorites, because it manages to show both its tender side and its inner conflict effectively (and in addition it has left us some decidedly funny quotes and scenes).

Dean is definitely complicated this season, mainly for a reason: he's hurt. We left him in season six with the revelation that Castiel was working with Crowley besides his back and with the angel who, after becoming a god, told him he no longer had any interest in their family and caused a series of disasters around the world. Part of him would like Castiel to come to his senses, as Sam does, but the other part, which is more apparent, is hurt by Castiel's actions and in addition his pessimism leads him not to hope that the situation can be resolved. Bobby (and later Sam too) immediately notes that Dean does not believe there is any hope and also notes his grief at losing his best friend in more ways than one (to which is added seeing Sam in very bad conditions precisely because of Cas). To the whole thing is added the death of Castiel, which is the thing that devastates him the most, both because he was his best friend, and because of the way he left (and probably also because he still feels guilty for being the reason that led Castiel up to that point). I have noticed several times that when Dean is hurt and hopeless he tends to be dumber than usual and make far more mistakes. A demonstration appears in episode 07x03, when, despite promising Sam that he would not kill his monster friend Amy, he does so anyway and lies to Sam about it (which I think is the worst thing, even if I might understand some of Dean's reasons). This situation also haunts him in later episodes (especially in 07x04) in which he has to deal with his guilt and leads him to quarrel with Sam to such an extent that they separate (and I think Sam has every reason to do so). Another element that permanently destroys Dean (but also Sam) is Bobby's death, which I think is even more devastating than John's. At that point it seems that the two brothers no longer have anyone and reach one of the lowest points of the season. Hope resurfaces in Dean when he finds Castiel. It's pretty quickly clear that, as much as he wants to be mad at him for the things he's done, Dean's already forgiven him, so much that, when Castiel recovers his memory and doesn't understand how he could do what he's done, Dean is the one on his side and still supports him (giving him back our beloved trench coat). When Castiel seems to go crazy Dean lets out all his repressed frustrations against him, but eventually admits that he would like to have him in his life anyway and at that point Castiel decides to help him defeat the Leviathans.

In the last episode they manage to defeat Dick together, but are dragged into purgatory with him, leaving Sam completely alone.

- Carly 💚

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