#it literally makes no sense yet we forgive it because it's a dope episode

[highfantasy-soul]

I know this isn't going to have any effect on those who feel justified in hating the adaptations they do - all sorts from comic to screen, book to screen, animated to live-action - but in my re-watch of ATLA (animated), I've noticed a lot more 'eeehhh' storytelling than I did in my other watches. Because I'm looking for it to compare specifically how they did it in the animated to how they did it in the live-action.

And let me tell you - the animated story is amazing, phenomenal, one of my favorites ever...and it has storytelling issues.

So maybe, if you were convinced the PJO adaptation was shit, the ATLA adaptation was awful, the Wheel of Time show was a tragedy, try going back and watching/reading the OG LOOKING for things to gripe about. Treat the OG like you treat the adaptation - with the most critical eye for any inconsistency, character work you don't like, plot holes, expositional dialogue, and pacing issues.

LOOK for those issues, and I guarantee you'll find them. Because, let me let you in on a secret: no story is perfect. We love them anyways because the story is still good. It's still meaningful. It still has merit.

Imagine the OG is actually the adaptation and (if you're able to honestly do that) you'll find things the adaptation did better.

Again, I know the people who've made it their personality to hate all adaptations and pretend they're storytelling geniuses who know best aren't going to pay attention to this, but idk, maybe one person will? Or for us more forgiving watchers, we'll be able to catch ourselves if we start to make some uncharitable, knee-jerk arguments about certain pieces of media.

Idk, just try it maybe.

[crehador]

how are we halfway through the season again it’s true what they say time flies like the wind and fruit flies like bananas

anyway winter 2023 mid-season thoughts:

nier and uniteup aren’t quite at the halfway mark yet due to their hiatuses (which were thankfully short, looks like no one is getting fucked like isekai ojisan this season knock on wood)

no new thoughts on nier since 3-ep ruling since lol it’s still at its third episode, but finally coming back this week! hype

uniteup is still adorable, though i’m starting to notice more immersion-breaking moments of the voice actors just... really sounding like they’re reading off a script

which is honestly kind of cute to me? they’re all very new of course and it’ll be nice to see them grow and improve as they get more work (well... if they get more work)

technoroid is shocking still the better idol anime of the season, though as i suspected it does struggle a bit to hold the perfect balance between its idol plot and its human/android tensions plot. they did a really phenomenal job of striking this balance at first, but the idol stuff has fallen by the wayside a little imo

it’s like if you’re going to do both you’ll need to do both well enough to justify having both, which technoroid is... still more or less accomplishing! i do wish we had a bit more idol stuff, but i can’t imagine how they would be able to do that without making the other themes suffer, so i think overall they’re doing as well as they can

that’s only for new idol seasons though because idolish7 is back from hiatus hell and continues to be the best idol series, like, of all time basically

trigun stampede is... well... i can’t say i’ve completed come around to it. i don’t so much mind that there are changes, it was always billed as a re-imagining after all, but so many of the changes (most of them, in fact) just make no damn sense to me

i’m not even a manga purist or anything, like yeah that’s my favorite version of canon but i do also love the og anime a lot even in how it deviates from the manga (i even like the og anime ending! so i’m really not like grrr grrr nothing can change from the manga grrr it just... doesn’t feel like these stampede changes are reasonable)

stampede is of course a gorgeous show and i’m loving the visual feast, also gotta give props for the crybaby livio flashback scene because that was quite literally everything i could have wanted

SINS I STILL HAVE NOT AND WILL NEVER FORGIVE: MILLY ERASURE. AND THEY TURNED?? MY WIFE??? ELENDIRA??? INTO A CHILD FOR SOME REASON?????? WHY WOULD THEY DO THAT WTF

anyway i will continue to enjoy the visual feast and otherwise keep my expectations so low that they are buried in the ground, my only hope is please please please let legato be as unhinged about knives as he is in manga canon do NOT take this away from us gays we need it

fumetsu s2 is still good but ngl kinda losing me, i’m just sad enough already that i don’t really need this lol

blue lock is coming up on its first season ending, and no it hasn’t held the high quality of its earliest episodes, but i still personally find it to be an incredibly good adaptation. hoping s2 will be announced quickly so i can continue watching with my dearest

high card is still in the strongly okayish category in terms of quality, wihch puts it above ooyukiumi no kaina... and it pains me to say that because kaina had such a strong start, but i don’t feel like it’s actually done anything all that interesting with its very cool worldbuilding

or, rather, i guess i’m just not into what they are doing. it’s fine and all, but i’m not feeling invested in the characters. worldbuilding is still dope as hell though

tsurune remains gorgeous and... kind of baffling in terms of vibe lmao like what the hell happened in the novels because i’m so sure it’s not as sanitized as the anime, i can just feel it

even in s4 my memories and i are still in such a weird relationship with bungou stray dogs which is that i know i’ve read the manga up to this part at least, probably even farther, but the absolute most batshit things have to happen before i’m like “ohhh yeah i guess that did happen huh”

don’t remember anything else. how did kunikida even get in jail?! he’s my favorite so the fact that i forgot that makes me wonder what else i forgot lmao

tomo-chan and i guess we’re calling it ice guy are still both pretty cute, and i usually enjoy office romcoms much more than high school romcoms because hell yeah adults

but tomo-chan has a strong edge over ice guy. both these series are just in the pretty okayish category for me, but tomo-chan’s comedic beats tend to land while ice guy’s do not. ice guy has its very cute moments, and it’s so so so soothing that i’m definitely enjoying it, but its comedy (especially its comedic timing) is just not really working. very often there are sketches that go on for just waaay too long, to the point that i think ice guy may have benefited from being a half-length show like cool doji danshi

still very cute, though!

and speaking of cool doji danshi, it’s still asdkflajsdlfkj i want to PUNCH a CLOUD these idiots are so cute. eikyuu shounen, the other half-length series of the season, is still pretty enjoyable too! surprisingly, if we rule out idolish7, i think i’d actually say eikyuu shounen has the best music out of the currently airing idol anime. uniteup and technoroid are obviously better in many other ways, but the eikyuu shounen music is right up my alley

last but certainly not least, the vampire dies in no time s2 is still so fucking funny that i’d put it as a strong contender for anime of the season for me. i feel like we’re seeing a lot more of fukuma this season which is fantastic because the bits about ronaldo’s writing career are so incredibly relatable lmao

like where can i get a fukuma-san fr

[smallfrost]

what are your theories in MFSRI about raylla in the finale and the season 2 which is happening for sure, have 0 doubts about it, raylla is the new freeform malec, i'm not so attached to chat or social media fans because negativity it doesnt help my anxiety, i'm sure in that group chat there is no negativity, but in twitter there is a lot so is hard for me, every time i see negativity towards scylla and raylla, then i come here and your masterminds are so pro ,positive and making sense theories.

First... SEASON 2!!!! I started working on this before the renewal announcement and now with MFS officially coming back, it gives this ask so much more weight. I’m crying tears of joy.

Released this ask into the mind vault over at MFSRI and we have some wonderful thoughts (and hopes) for the future. I also seriously need to just say there are moments where we have a hive mind I swear. We’re all linked. A few of the beauties that joined in for this discussion are @captainjeclid, @maplecroft, & @theycallmestephlee. I don’t know Tumblrs for everyone but shout out to everyone cause they are all dope. Here’s a summary of points from the discussion for options/hopes/theories/predictions.

End of the season -They love each other but things will be tenuous between them at the end of the season

-They both need to go through some growth: Scylla for further redemption and to prove herself to Raelle, Raelle to work on not letting her emotions control her 

-Very possible that they may not be physically together but they will be looking for each other and setting the stage for a reunion

-If Scylla is released early in the episode, she’ll find her way to the mission for a tenuous reunion

Season 2 Hopes -They are going to work on their bond and trust issues and by the end, they are going to be stronger together with no doubt left between them

- Hope that they will be together physically but at a bit of odds relationship wise but it’s addressed in a healthy manner so they can work through the rough patches. Growth with some angst before returning to their happy place

- Perhaps a small time jump of 1-2 months between seasons so they have already begun working out their issues, laying some ground rules etc. for working together, but nothing has been fully resolved yet, otherwise it could come off as unrealistic

- Tops only a few episodes of them not being “together”. Their connection is too powerful and Raelle will forgive Scylla relatively quickly (her main concern was that the love wasn’t real, now that she knows it is, it’s just rebuilding the trust)

- Scylla is going to be back at Raelle’s side the second she can be (if she isn’t already) and Raelle knows that Scylla chose her so doubt they will be “separated” in any way for too long

- Mutual pining while they work through their issues would be lovely    

- Do not want their “separation” (physical or romantic) to be drawn out throughout all of season 2. We want them to be constantly working on making their bond stronger than before and falling into stale tropes would really suck

- The love and investment of the entire cast but especially Taylor, Amalia, and Eliot gives us hope that they won’t draw anything out. It doesn’t fit their characters

tl;dr: They’re may not be “together” by the end of the finale but the love is real, they will be working in the right direction in a healthy and constructive manner, and it won’t take forever to get to where they want to be. OTP: No Matter What Happens.

I also agree with you - though differing opinions are always important to listen too, if the other side refuses to have a conversation and just wants to be negative, I just dismiss myself. This show gives me joy, in a really shitty world right now. My anxiety was through the roof at the start of quarantine and this show literally has helped me get through. I honestly hate Twitter. I only got an account because I wanted to joint the fight and make some noise for the show - gotta get that season 2! But since Twitter is literally a platform for posting your opinions on things, in a format that does not promote conversation per se, it makes it really hard to talk to people. And things get lost in the sea so quickly. I’m glad you are enjoying the theories and analysis! We’ve all fallen down a lot of rabbit holes analyzing the crap out of this show. It is so rich in themes and symbolism and history, it’s Christmas for us nerds. And Christmas just came again since we’ve been gifted Season 2 and more time to melt into this beautiful universe. 

[mixedracefairy]

A Reylocentric review of Episode IX

*HELLA SPOILERS*

DON'T READ IF YOU'VE NOT SEEN STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER!

(I'm from London get used to the slang)

I liked:

• I just liked how one of many Snokes was in like a Matrix incubator, lit and mysterious idea - that Palpatine was behind the creation of Ben. Did he bun not being able to find Rey and then switch to Vader's line as I assume Ben wasn't hard to find? Had to use Snoke otherwise Final Order and resurgence would be revealed. Cool.

• Opening with Ren POV establishes him as a big man and dark don and Palpatine is butters like whatever you think of Ben/Ren all man can get behind hating on Palpy.

• The whole 'lads we best sort this out or we're totally fucked' plot - Palpatine is back with a surrender or be destroyed motive

• The promise of destiny to Ren if man ends Rey cos it makes them mortal enemies. However you sense he won't cos she's wifey but the dichotomy is bare hypey. (That sounds silly. It does however, best express my feelings to the situ.)

• Him chasing her all 'I am gonna turn you to the dark' - it's exciting that he has a desire for her, it's also exciting that she's like aight calm and carries on with her ting with the boiz

• Rey's vision - the potential in the force for her to rule with Kylo Ren and be dark side. Wild.

• Rey's heritage revealed - that she comes from a lineage of great power and great darkness. At first it was cool that she was a nobody and Ren like a prince because of the class contrast and their bond, but this reveal makes her almost greater than Ren, eligible to be empress. Literally the bottom to top. Lit.

• Moments of proximity, there's a momentum building, the bond between them and it's exciting to anticipate their presence together and what might come if it

• The duel of wills over the transporter, demonstrating equal power. (Luke saber 2.0)

• Her shock at her power, losing control/unawareness of might - Rey fearing her power and destiny. Rey also being how the Skywalker twins learn from their mistakes of not fearing (Ben's) power

• Their force bonds - moments where she outsmart him, him with the position in power searching for her on the ground but she's in his quarters. There's always been something hypey about the FO/Empire with their might vs RA/Resistance underdogs and our boiz winning, but never in a situation where they're bonded and he's literally searching for her to wifey.

• Lowkey role reversal cos he's tryna tell her who she is, albeit for his own purposes, and she's in denial and responds by attacking him. The 'I'm angry so I'm gonna hack at things with my lightsaber' is usually a Ren move.

• You can't tell if they want to kill each other, (cos you can tell they wanna fuuuh). Ren races at her with his speeder, she cuts off his wing; in their heated duel they let each other recover yet she seizes the opportunity to kill him. She then heals him as the occasion is a mutual mourning. Confessing wanting to take his hand, Ben's hand.

• The way Rey and Ren dance around each other, Rey flying off his star base. Man all like rah, bae swerved again.

• They did 3PO dirty! It's gucci tho for the Groot-esque bant.

• Ren's abandoning of the dark side moment was feeling keenly the loss of his mother, indicating he had a love for her and somewhere a desire to return to the light or a safety/relaxedness that his opposition was headed by her. Almost like he was protecting as much as seeming to destroy her cause. 

• It reminded him of how he lost his father by his hand, their love haunts him as somewhere he felt he belonged but was ashamed to return to because of Snoke (Palpatine's) corruption. Her death is a loss of hope for his sometime redemption or organising of the galaxy between those who backed the Resistance and First Order. 

• The memory of Han convinces Ben Leia's cause still lives if he decides to take it up, showing he did care for her and what she stood for. He just felt lost to it, hurt, unbelonging, bitter and abandoned by it. Yet he believed in himself and his destiny for greatness, (which you have to rate), so man was like dark side it is. (Wow, what a gangster.) 

• It's a bit like Leia's death freed him of the shame of wanting to be light because he needn't face their judgement, or more, the pain of their undeserved love and forgiveness.

• Lowkey Harry Potter vibes like when Harry's nemesis kills him but doesn't die but the horcrux part did. Han says "Kylo Ren is dead" after he is stabbed by his own saber - the pursuit of darkness that was destroying him has been killed (with compassion for Leia?)

• Leia's arc from episide IV has been lit. After her death, Poe feeling unqualified and Lando saying they all of them weren't ready, you deep how young, (what literally 17?), Leia since day has been taking initiative, being a leader. What a champion and woman all the galaxy has looked up to. And telling silly flyboys to put their cocks away, yet still she believed in and elevated Poe (who has learnt and developed).

• Force heal 1 was a nice indicator of her capability and just a nice touch of her approach of kindness to problem solving, like Leia to her flyboys - put your cocks away. Also dope how Finn prees it and backs her.

• What the hell was Finn going to tell Rey before they sank?

• Yo the way man ended Hux was lit! Pusssyyyy

• Ben's redemption, how he went after Rey to rescue/fight with her as Han's son.

Fresh 👏 garms

• The parallels of Ben and Rey both ditching their saber was cool. Not sure why, like they're both on the wavelength of 'fuck this shit' haha. Except Ben ditches his to step into his true self, what he was trying to do since day, and Rey ditches hers to deny herself. Good thing Luke was about to say who you are is what you make of yourself. A bit like the answerless mirror cave from VIII.

• I like old Luke. I like what a cynical c*nt he is hahaha

• Ben abandoned his saber as it represented Kylo Ren and darkness. Was it foolish to take just a blaster? Tbf he is the don with the force so maybe he thought he was gucci. Force swap was sick tho.

• Pretty cool that their force bond is so powerful it could renew Palpatine's power as it shows how precious it is. Also mad tragic that that is their downfall, they stood no chance against him. But surely if it could renew him it could end him? Two yung padawans couldn't really take on big man like Palpy so fair.

• There were some excellently convincing moments all round of loss of hope - 'they're done fuuucked' moments. Poe in his X wing, Rey staring into force lightning etc.

• Was it stupid that Ben went to Rey? It's obviously instinctive he ain't gonna snake bae now they're not opps. Without him there Palpatine never would have been renewed tho. Rey however remains pure and not a Sith, so did he come to protect her innocence? Fits in with the literary themes and tropes of fairytales that the whole idea of them comes from. 

• I mean if he hadn't come Rey would be Sith empress and really how bad would that be? She'd probably have Ben beside her thus fulfilling the vision she had. What Sith vows must she have taken in order to become empress, (to save the mandem obvs), because she could technically marry Ben who would rule in light and she in darkness. That would be badass af, an unwilling Sith empress.

• Rey's fulfilling of destiny, saving the galaxy etc. I mean obviously it's dope when a hero steps into her role. She chose, like Ren, to ignore her past but in this case for good (because she had the bravery to believe she was not isolated, she was loved, unlike Ben). 

• Her battle has been one of self worth and belonging and she believed she belonged to a Jedi family, worthy to have all Jedi behind her, despite her searching for a family to give her life meaning and finding the truth is literally the opposite of what might help her in this battle. She gave all her power/life for the galaxy.

• Ben gave his life for her, completing his redemption in a Christ-like ultimate love sacrifice. We also catch a first smile and oh me lawd it is my favourite thing in the whole three trilogies. That transfer of life, joy, love, kiss, death was just perfection. Po👏et👏ry. 

• Fuck man. She was his only joy. Raaah

• Also because she died for the galaxy, he died to give her life, it's like he took the L for the galaxy instead, but also allowing our young female protagonist from ends the glory and not the star prince with a bad white male privilege temper and climb to power.

• Leia didn't become one with the force til Ben was redeemed. That's deep. Was that why Ben turned? His scar is now healed, suggesting the betrayal of patricide and how that weakened him instead of making him Kylo Ren is mended by Rey. He's no longer split in two?

• What's the symbolism of giving her life by putting your hand there Ben? I see you Disney, you gotta keep it PG but I see you

• At the end, when she's asked what her name is, it would have been cool if she was like Rey Palpatine and I overcame the meaning of the name, I know who I am. But it was fitting, you could sense it - and the force ghosts what a touch - she was a Skywalker. Her fam have been Leia, Luke and Han, and her soulmate should they have been married would make her Skywalker too. Technically Rey Solo which also fits because it's the same reason Han chose the name cos man didn't know who they belonged to, except she's not alone, she belongs as a Skywalker.

• Obviously Rey and Ben raising little babies as heirs to the empire would have been dope but Ben's death atones for his atrocities as well as makes for poetic writing. 

• Rey returns to nothing, which is cool cos her parents obviously must have been eligible to be heirs to the empire and also chose to be nothing. So it's significant, not anticlimactic. It's humbling, which in the trope of heroes is radical.

• This is a statement that autocracies like the Final Order don't belong in the galaxy, but people power can take down star destroying fleets. (Shame about UK politics not being people power taking down hope destroying elites but ok.)

• Oi what does that gold lightsaber mean? It's cool still.

• Leia and Luke, like Rey, show a natural instinct for the light, as if to say humans are naturally loving without influence of darkness. (Ffs Darth Sidious)

• Both Rey and Ben have the same dark then light genealogy. Rey actively seeks out the light (VIII) and is denied it and genuinely fears her potential for darkness eventually. Ben is moulded to darkness despite his natural light. When they face big man Darth Sidious they're both at a point of comfort in their identities, they both believe they have a right to the light side because of who they are and the choice they are making.

• What's the new mask phase all about?

• Ben's arc is dope - you meet Kylo Ren and he's scary and powerful, then lol at mask off moment, you're a likkle yout! Then find he desperately wants to prove himself and becomes a vulnerable manchild, his act of patricide fostering a softer side which we connect to through Rey, taking leadership and then throwing that in the trash to be, like Rey, a nobody. It's like reverse Vader, also because instead of unwittingly killing his missus he wittingly gives his life for her.

• Lit trilogy 👏 bun the haters. Them man don't understand 😙👌

[enemymine2000]

Fandom rambles: Thoughts about SPN 12x13

Disclaimer: I don't usually watch teaser trailers, so keep that in mind in case some of my ramblings are already obsolete because of next weeks trailer.

I'm actually quite satisfied with this week's Supernatural episode.

Yeah, it feels weird to have this non-conclusion type of episode. Everything is left hanging, nothing resolved. But hasn't it been that way ever since the end of 11? Supernatural is no longer about the success of the hunt. It's about the various ways to get there. And there are various ways to achieve success.

One might be inclined to simply hunt down all supernatural creatures and believe in a happily ever after for humankind like the BMOL or Mary are.

Another might want to take control of the situation and go about it more differentially like the Winchester brothers and their non-human allies.

Dean stood for us the viewers when he asked Mary: “So where does leave us?”

And Mary for the writers when she answered: “Same as always. Family.” This episode was the precursor for the hard choices our characters will have to make for the sake of their family/families.

The only one whose choices I'm currently sure about is Dean. Where Sam's heart broke a little bit when Mary admitted to working with the BMOL, Dean's hunch was shown as being justified. He had seen something coming and was not really surprised by it. His whole body language afterwards spelled out that he was done with Mary's shit (literal facepalm applied). He only listened because Sam was emotionally not yet there yet and needed to hear it. So if going forwards Dean will be seen as supposedly working with the BMOL it will be only for Sam's benefit, who is not yet ready to let his mother go. But if it was only him, he would have shoved Mary's ass out of the bunker door that instance.

In accordance with aforementioned quote, Dean is aware that his family contains nearly more supernatural “creatures” than humans at this point. For starters obvious by his very absence this episode: Cas.

Whatever happened in the last years, it always had Cas there at the epicenter with Dean. Those two are able to pull each other from the brink like no other two in this show. Breaking demonic drive (Dean was not possessed so I call it drive until I come across a better term) and angelic reprogramming. They died for each other a couple of times and don't get me started on their slow burn romance.

So, yes, family includes an angel. As Mary is canonically not yet aware, most angels are dicks.

Cas is not, mostly, if he doesn't try to fix things by ramping his powers up with all souls from Purgatory and plays God for a while. So her point of reference is skewed by previous beliefs (again remember the little putto she put up above Sam's crib, therefore making sure we know she believes in good angels as guardians) and the absence of evidence to the contrary at this point. She never saw another side to Cas as his “baby in a trenchcoat” and “omg, nearly dying here for you/don’t let you die here” persona. Never saw the soldier/warrior at full strength.

Then there is Dean's currently strained complicated relationship with the King of Hell himself. Crowley, who very probably is the closest thing you could call Dean's ex at this point. Heartbroken Crowley, who still is very much willing to risk his very livelihood for his slice of humanity. Crowley, who discovered he still has a heart after all, even without doping up on human-blood. I don't think Mary has ever met Crowley outside of 12x12 and only heard briefly about him beforehand. (As much as we have the Winchester seen read their father's journal, we never saw them adding to it, so she would not find information of the past 10 years in it.) So, King of Hell is a concept she must be struggling with still. She most likely does not know about the big Summer of Love and (B)romance her son and Crowley had and where they did unspeakable things to triplets together. I very much doubt her sons have clued her in about that whole “oh, by the way Dean here has been a demon for a while before we cured him and he was also number one pupil to number one torturer of Hell, Alastair, for about 10 years Hell-time before Cas gripped him tight and raised him from perdition, because Apocalypse and Michael’s vessel and btw, Mom, Angel Breeding Program, ever heard of that”-thing. Because when your mother gets resurrected after 33 years and is struggling to make sense of the world, that is totally the first thing you tell her about. *snorts sarcastically* Those are her sons, the only people (without an agenda) she has a connection to nowadays, and they are maybe anything else but purely human and that is totally fine for them (most of the time). It's confusing as it is, that her sons are not kids anymore. For her Crowley is simply Mister Demon-King, who somehow decided to help her sons out against Ramiel, but did not do much but to break a lance. (She would not be privy to the happenings outside the barn and the implication of that short encounter, as well, as she only would have heard Dean being angry with the guy and tell him to get out while she was a bit busy with Cas lying on the couch dying.)

Since Mary had not been seen in a long while according to Dean, we can safely assume she is also not privy to the happenings of “Regarding Dean” and therefore does not know about the new kinship with Rowena (and probably barely about her at all, lest to say her very personal, familial connection to aforementioned King of Hell). So Rowena is just a witch and witches are evil according to the old hunter's playbook.

But Dean has risen beyond that over the last 10 years and he shared his moments with Rowena and formed a bond. She might not be family yet, but she is very much on her way there. Kicking and screaming of course, as is befitting for the most powerful witch on this planet!

Sam is still somewhere in between Mary's old ways and Dean's new ones. Ironic as it is, since it was Sam who first insisted on saving those “monsters” who had not yet done irredeemable things, while Dean was more set on following their father's (and unknowingly their mother's) footsteps.

But Sam has started to realize the flaws in his logic. He knows, even fully human he is just as much a monster as those they were trained to bring down. The demon pact his own mother made sealed his destiny, he never really stood a chance. But it is only now that he realizes this. Before he only blamed himself for getting addicted on demon-blood, for not being strong enough not to use his psychic powers, for not stopping the Apocalypse… you name it.

Now he sees that John brought him up as a hunter (human monster to others), while always despising himself for potentially being what they hunted. He will never be able to rid himself of that past, but he can accept it and move forward on a path of his own creation. He can let monsters live not to redeem himself by proxy as before, but because nearly everyone is a monster if you look closely enough. Mary does not see it (yet). For her sake I hope she'll realize that new mantra of “family doesn't end with blood” and there needs to be “a cosmic balance between light and dark” (literally stated by Chuck in 12x23 – and hasn't He practically given the reigns to Dean before going on his siblings retreat?) before it is too late for her.

Family for Mary are her boys. Only just so including Cas, because he is an angel and Dean's BF(F). Family for her boys are those who stood beside them despite everything no matter their status of blood/soul/grace.

So, yes, this week's episode was more transitional than anything else. It transitioned the timeline back to its origin and the family/ies to the point of making choices.

Rowena choosing to do the right thing for the wrong reasons, Crowley choosing not to forgive her. (Isn't that something that a demon – without human-blood addiction – has even enough heart to be heartbroken about the loss of his son! - Hm, maybe I should get back to that train of thought in a different post.)

Dean choosing to hear Mary out for Sam's sake. Sam choosing whether he can forgive Mary or not.

Mary choosing to do as the BMOL always wanted and try to bring her boys into the fold, all the while thinking she does the opposite.

Kelly Kline choosing to trust Dagon with her safety and that of her unborn child. (Which will lead her straight back to Lucifer.)

But what is right is not always easy and can sometimes leave you hanging.