‘Supernatural’ Recap: ‘Back and to the Future’

Written by Juanita ‘Obi-Juan’ Bonner

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

The term full circle can be used when a series of events or circumstances leads one back to the beginning. For Supernatural (CW) writer, Andrew Dabb, this meant bringing our beloved brothers, Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) Winchester back to where they started…and in more ways than one. To this, I scream BRAVO and to you I say *****SPOILERS AHEAD*****
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When we last saw our boys, they were in a cemetery. The truth about God (Rob Benedict) and his betrayal had been revealed, Jack (Alexander Calvert) lay dead at their feet, with his soul in The Empty with Billie (Lisa Berry), and Castiel (Misha Collins) stood faithfully at their side. God disappeared, but not before saying “Welcome to the end,” turning day in to night and unleashing what can only be described as ghost-possessed zombies to surround our group. We also get a chilling glimpse at three ghosts of Winchesters’ past: The Woman in White (Shanae Tomasevich; original character from the Pilot), John Wayne Gacy (Sean Tyson; original character from 14.13) and Bloody Mary (Jovanna Burke; original character from 1.05)!

Soap Box Moment: When Season 14 ended, I was angry – mad at Chuck AND the writers. I thought, “What!? this is it? This is how they’re going to end it?!? It’s all just a story!!!” I stayed that way for a few days, letting the idea sink in. As I began to accept it, reluctantly I might add, I slowly started to understand that honestly, how else should they end this long and winding road? Suddenly, I realized, of all the ways they could wrap up this beloved series, making Chuck the inevitable bad guy is perfect… absolutely perfect! They’ve faced everything at this point, creatures of all kinds, demons, Angels, various other Gods, even alternate universes and bugs (we can’t forget the bugs… LOL). As Chuck once put it, before we knew him as God…”forced to live through bad writing.” I now believe that Dabb meant to connect the two. That way back then Chuck was eluding to this! It all makes so much sense. What more could the writers throw at Team Free Will except the Biggest Bad of them all… God, The Writer! From then on, I embraced the genius and never looked back…

The season 15 premiere, ‘Back and to the Future’, a just and proper title, picks up as the boys begin to fight their way out of the ghost zombie horde. With no time for grieving, Castiel hoists Jack over his shoulder and the three of them make their way to a mausoleum within the cemetery. He isn’t strong enough to zap them out of there or smite the entire mob outside and so the story begins. Sam and Dean start to search the area in the crypt for a way out as the three of them begin to rationalize what’s actually happening. Finding a possible out, the boys hack into some brick only to expose another ghost zombie. Crushed by Castiel, the spirit escapes the body. Suddenly Jack is possessed, upright and says “Hello.” Standing there. In Jack’s body. Eyes burnt out. A demon. Meet Jack’s new inhabitant, Belphegor. Holy cow this is awkward. As he starts to explain, I’m conflicted. He seems, calm and comical even. Castiel wants to vanquish him, as do I (“get out of Jack”, I yelled) as Castiel lunges towards him. But wait. He can help. What? Turns out, he’s a very old demon who just wants to help put Hell back to the way it was; torturiffic. And just like that…twinsies! *WINK*

Watching Alexander Calvert embrace this role is pure joy. Donning some white sunglasses to cover God’s handy work, when asked what he’s doing, “Blending,” he hilariously replies. A completely different character from the always sullen Jack, with a comedic tongue, an eye for fashion, and access to ancient magic, Belphegor is, well… fun. I mean, virgin puppies, am I right? LOL. The viewer almost immediately forgets that Jack has been replaced… almost. Is he still in The Empty with Billie, I wonder. Propelling the story forward, Belphegor, drawing on his magic, mixes graveyard dirt with Angel blood and the zombie noises cease. As they step outside and see all the bodies, Castiel thinks the spirits have been destroyed, but Belphegor corrects him. They’ve only been expelled. Dean asks and I wonder, “Where are the ghosts then?” The next scene brings us to the teenage girls we saw at the end of Season 14 as Bloody Mary attacks. No need to say her name three times anymore, yikes!

Back with the group driving down the road (hi Baby!), they’re headed back to the bunker to regroup. Belphegor lets them know that 2 to 3 billion souls are loose. WOW! And guess what, he knows how to contain them with magic to buy some time. Hmm… another spell. In this moment, along with Cas, I’m a bit skeptical of Belphegor’s motives. However, he’s just so darn funny that I overlook it which is likely just what the writer wants. In somewhat reluctant agreeance the group heads towards town. Coming across a vehicle parked on the edge of the road, they stop. The doors are open, the radio is playing and there’s blood everywhere. Sam and Dean discuss a familiar scene and a familiar woman. Oh my Chuck, the Woman in White! NICE! I’m already impressed with this full circle business!!! The boys come to the horrific conclusion that if she’s back then they’re ALL back! I’m stunned…

In the meantime, another not-so-friendly ghost throwback, Gacy, has slashed his way through a kid’s birthday party. Damn it! I already forgot all about him! A mother and daughter are running and trying to hide while he cackles in the background. I clench my covers. I don’t like this full circle moment at all and yet I love it at the same time. I say under my breath, “Freakin’ clowns!” Once in town, using the trusty FBI disguise, Sam alerts the Sheriff (Peter Skagen) to a benzene leak and orders the town evacuated to the same place. The Sheriff suggests the high school gym. Cas, who can’t even stomach to look at Belphegor in Jack’s body, exits the car to join Sam while Dean stays behind to help gather the spell ingredients as we later find out consists of rock salt and a human heart… preferably fresh! Yep, that sounds about right… LOL. Within the town, Sam and Castiel proceed to clear the houses. Sam finds the mother and daughter from the birthday party hiding in a garage. They come out of hiding and as Sam’s speaking with them, Gacy appears behind him. “Watch out,” I scream as the mother belts out a cry!! I’m terrified to see Sam, yet again, face his fear of clowns because seriously… same dude, same!! Gacy slashes Sam across his side and he falls to the ground. Cas, having found the teenage girls dead, leaves the house as an image of Bloody Mary appears in the mirror behind him. He shows up to the garage just in the nick of time, saving the day by shooting Gacy with rock salt. YES!! 

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The scene shifts downtown where the Sheriff is instructing people to evacuate as Dean is returning to the car with rock salt in hand while on the phone with Rowena asking for help. I was so excited just to hear her name and can’t wait to see her in action again!! When Dean reaches the car, he notices that Belphegor is staring at him. When he asks what’s up, Belphegor admits that he’s a fan of Dean’s work. His torture work! Images of Alastair (Christopher Heyerdahl) flood my cold thoughts for a moment before I catch what is arguably the most important piece of dialogue in the whole episode. Trying to move past the moment of Belphegor calling Dean’s torture skills art (awkward right?) Dean asks what it’s like in hell right now. Belphegor casually explains how all the doors just opened at once. Huh?? I belt out “MICHAEL!” And before I can say another word, Dean asks about the cage and Michael in virtually the same breath. Last Belphegor knew, Michael was “just sitting there.” Wait, just sitting there!? WOW!? Images of a sinister Jake Abel perched on a stool grinning in awe flood my mind while Belphegor casually slaps Dean’s arm and says “he wouldn’t hold a grudge, right?” As I allow all this to soak in, I realize that Dabb not only gave us throwback material to enjoy, but he also hints towards the future by telling us that Michael is free! AWESOME!!! And in the first episode no less. I’m freaking out at the possibilities!!

Back at the garage, Cas heals Sam’s slash wound and the mother and daughter, having just heard that Cas is an Angel and Gacy is a ghost, seem surprisingly calm… LOL. As Sam stands up in pain, Cas realizes he’s still hurt. Sam says something about when he shot God. “When you shot God!?”, the mother says as I yell, “crap, I forgot all about that too!” The Equalizer bullet ricocheted off Chuck and back at Sam. Cas tries to heal the gunshot wound. At the same time, Sam sees a vision of himself and what appears to be Dean falling to the ground… to his death??? From Sam??? Castiel cannot heal the wound and says there’s an energy around it that he’s never felt before. Whoa! I’m stunned again…

Sam takes a call from the Sheriff who’s got most of the townspeople rounded up. As they both hang up to head to the school gym, the Sheriff turns a corner and sees a woman just standing there, that he approaches repeatedly saying: “ma’am?” The woman turns and smiles, and the Sheriff asks if she’s okay. There she is! THE WOMAN IN WHITE! Cut back to Sam, as they leave the house, Gacy’s head appears in the garage window behind them. By this point, my eyes are bulging and my skin is tingling!! Next we see Dean and Belphegor walking down the street on the hunt for the second spell ingredient, the human heart. Dean suggests the morgue and Belphegor remarks that fresh would be better. They hear a man cry out. Running to the scene, they find the Sheriff down. Before Belphegor can say “cool,” I conclude, well, they found their “fresh” heart… LOL.

We bounce back to Sam and crew walking the streets towards the town high school with all the ghosts we’ve seen so far in tow plus a couple extra for good measure. At the same time, Dean and Belphegor have a brief face off with the Woman in White. The scenes jump back and forth with chills and comedy throughout. I love it!! Finally, after Belphegor rips the heart from the Sheriff’s chest, the spell is cast and a supernatural barrier runs across the streets. In a break from fighting the ghosts, Sam and crew hear a thunderous sound and see the magical threshold roll over them. They begin running for their lives and just barely make it passed the line in time. Gacy screams in anger and Sam tells him to “shut-up.” HECK YA! I say again, “Freakin’ clowns!!”

Finally, the entire group, having met back up off screen, reach the high school together. Before exiting the car, solidifying why they do all this fighting in the first place, the little girl says “thank you” and Sam then sees them up to the high school. Outside the car, Dean asks Castiel if he’s okay. He says, “Yes” followed with a hesitant, “But,” yet Dean walks away before he can explain. The camera pans back to show Belphegor standing behind Cas. He tries to strike up conversation but Cas simply walks away without saying a word. I feel for Castiel, but at the same time, I’m truly loving Calvert’s new character!

The final scene shows Dean at Baby’s trunk sifting through gear. Sam joins him as they proceed to have one of their famous BMs. *WINK* Dean, the ever-watchful big brother, notes that there’s no exit wound then cleans Sam’s gunshot wound with endearing knock, knock joke childhood humor… Aww! I ponder on the evil Castiel felt earlier and how the bullet is embedded and festering…interesting! The brothers’ discuss the impending doom and how they’ve been like “rats in a damn maze,” this whole time. Ultimately, they conclude that no matter what Chuck has screwed them with all these years, they’re still saving people and when, not if, they win this time, God will be gone for good. I somehow love and hate the sound of this because it’s the first time the whole episode I’ve truly zoned in on the fact that the end of this amazing series is near. I want them to win so badly, but in doing so, they ensure my sadness…*sigh*

Wrapping it up, Dabb gives us something I didn’t see coming until the last second. The final shot from episode one…all those years ago…redone to kick off the final season of the entire series. WHAAAAT!!!  Sam says, “We got work to do,” and closes the trunk. Fade to black! I scream, ”Brilliant!!” Full circle Andrew Dabb, full circle indeed… Beyond what I already pointed out above, here’s some tid bits for thought: What does Belphegor really want? Is he under Michael’s orders, hence the cool, I’m here to help routine? The Woman in White actually hurt him when she slashed his hand…interesting! If God was watching the whole time, wouldn’t he be watching now? And finally, was Castiel trying to tell Dean about the evil he felt in Sam?

Did you enjoy the final series premiere? What thoughts or tid bits come to mind for you? Leave your comments below or reach out to me @obi_juanita on Twitter. Until next time…go Team Free Will!  

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