Baby’s Rear View Recap: 11.21 “All in the Family”

This post is about Supernatural season 11 episode 21, “All in the Family” written by Brad Buckner and Eugenie Ross-Leming and directed by Thomas J. Wright.

*****Spoilers below*****

“Holy crap.”

This episode opens right where the last one left off. Good. The boys are in shock and Dean angrily questions whether Chuck is real; to prove that he is, Chuck zaps the three of them to the bunker. And then Kevin steps out from behind him. KEVIN. Kevin expresses concern with how stressed they look (especially Dean) and tells them they can trust Chuck. Then an impatient Chuck zaps him up to heaven. Or something. The boys are understandably in shock.

“You know, I don't want to turn into a pillar of salt.”
“I actually -- I didn't do that.”

Sweet baby Sam is the cutest ever trying to talk to God. And DEAN. Dean just sits there, thinking and feeling. This was my favorite scene of the episode, no question. Sam is trying so hard to make God love him but Dean just won’t. He’s angry and hurt and he doesn’t understand. Chuck tries to explain that he left so that things would be better, but Dean just feels like he left them. And then Chuck has to go and bring up Dean’s dad. This was the first of many moments this episode when I just wanted to punch Chuck right in his super cute face.

“You're strong, Amara. You may defeat him. But you will never be him.”

The episode cuts to Amara torturing Casifer. She tells him to beg God to save him, but Lucifer won’t. He taunts Amara instead.

“Thus spake the Lord.”

Back in the bunker, Chuck tells the brothers he believes in them before heading off to take a shower. Before he can leave, the boys press him about Lucifer. But Chuck doesn’t want to save Lucifer, because he can’t trust him. And then he even throws shade at the brothers for letting him out. Moment number two when I wanted to punch Chuck.

“By choosing to ignore me, my brother is allowing this to happen. These and other things. I thought you should know.”

Amara can sense that something is different. She knows Chuck has come back. She gives Dean a vision of her and Casifer, blaming Chuck for allowing these things to happen. Meanwhile, the fog is rolling in on Lewis, Oklahoma.

“You told God to cool it?”

Dean and Sam are looking for Amara but are finding nothing. They talk about Chuck and their strange situation, and Dean tells Sam about his vision and the dangerous state that Cas is in. But then Chuck walks in and tells them they shouldn’t bother looking for Lucifer. Just then the breaking news comes in about an entire town who were killed by Amara’s fog. All except one man. Chuck tries to justify not saving those people and the brothers head to Oklahoma to try to find Amara.

“Events are moving swiftly and everything will change.”

Metatron also catches the breaking news as he reads God’s manuscript in a bar. I loved this scene with Metatron standing up on the bar to get a closer look. And then he just sinks and sits down on it. Then he calls the Winchesters, who are on their way to Oklahoma in the impala. When the boys make it to Oklahoma, they realize that the survivor, Donatello, is the next prophet. While Sam tells the prophet what’s up, Dean gets another vision from Amara. She wants to meet.

“He's a little nutted out about the whole booga-booga of it all, so maybe just dial back the -- the God stuff.”

Sam and Dean take a confused and shocked Donatello back to the bunker to meet God. Chuck’s watching curling sans pants and eating Chinese, and yet Donatello is still awed by him.

“It's not an autobiography. It's a suicide note.”

Then Dean and Sam head to the bar to meet Metatron. (Dean moving that guy with the beer over. HA!) Dean is just not having it today, nor should he be. Same with Sam. They don’t want to believe it when Metatron tells them Chuck plans to sacrifice himself, but they have no choice when Metatron shows them God’s manuscript.

“You started all of this, but does that give you the right to end it? You know, we're not just some toys you throw away. I think you owe us more than that.”

Dean meets with Chuck in a park to confront him about his plan. Chuck explains that he will trade himself for the safety of His creations, to be stuck in a cage for all eternity. Dean doesn’t trust that it will work and Chuck assures him that if it doesn’t, Dean and Sam and the other “chosen” will be able to step up and find a way. He tells Dean that the reason He saved him years ago was to be the firewall between light and darkness. Dean doesn’t feel up to the task and tells Chuck that it is his responsibility.

“What happened?!”

Dean, Sam, Donatello, and Metatron cook up a plan to rescue Lucifer and then use him to help Chuck defeat Amara. Dean goes to the woods to meet Amara so as to distract her while the jailbreak goes down. Donatello leads Sam and Metatron to the place Casifer is being kept. Metatron works on casting an angel spell to free Casifer from his bonds while Amara tries to convince Dean to surrender to her. Sam makes Lucifer agree to behave and they bust him out just as Amara realizes something is amiss when she touches Dean’s face. Donatello can feel her coming but Lucifer can’t muster enough power to zap them out of there. Sam grabs Casifer and gets him out but Metatron stays behind to take care of Amara. When Amara arrives, Metatron casts a banishing spell; only it doesn’t work on Amara. Amara kills Metatron before moving on to find the others. She stops the impala in the middle of the road, but before she can do anything, God zaps the entire car back to the bunker. (Poor Baby, she’s going to need new tires for sure.) Chuck heals Casifer and the two greet each other awkwardly.

“So in other words, adios.”

Donatello leaves, but he’s not sure where he’s going. Sam and Dean talk about what just went down and man do things look hopeless.

Questions:

Whyyyy is Amara warding herself against God? Counterintuitive much? I thought she wanted God to come to her? How can he do that if he can’t find her?

So Kevin has been stuck in the veil this entire time? Why is that again? And now he’s going to heaven? Just now? Is he going to be an angel? IS HE COMING BACK? Why couldn’t he continue to be a prophet? Could he be a prophet in that state? Why couldn’t Chuck bring him back to life? Whyyyyyy.

What really went down between Chuck, Amara, and Lucifer? Chuck denied Lucifer’s involvement but Amara confirmed it. Is there more to the story? And will we ever hear it?

How is Amara just now—at least an hour after Chuck’s miracle—realizing that something is different? Wouldn’t she have realized Chuck was back the second her fog trick failed the first time around? Or did she not know that all those people survived? But how could she not, given that she was in the heads of the victims?

If Metatron has God’s manuscript, and knows that Chuck plans to sacrifice himself, why doesn’t he already know that Chuck is with the Winchesters? Did Chuck not include that part of the plan in the book?

And was it always Chuck’s plan to sacrifice himself? And that’s why he had to write the book? So Metatron didn’t convince him to change his mind and Chuck just led him on for like an hour?

So was it Amara or Chuck whose God power made Donatello into a prophet? My guess would be Chuck because Donatello is certainly not helping Amara. But the brothers mentioned that it might be Amara and that’s throwing me off because they never addressed it again.

Why did Metatron stay behind? Even if the spell had been successful, it would have just banished Amara from that place, not from the bunker or the road between the two. I just feel like he didn’t have to die… and will God bring him back? Could he, since it was the Darkness that killed him?

So… What? Lucifer is staying with the brothers in the bunker now?! What even is this? And why was he even able to get in—they should have it warded against him. Can you even imagine how Dean and Sam must feel right now? This is the worst. I can’t even. Lucifer had better behave or so help me.

Conclusions:

Oh my ffffffff Jensen’s acting in this. I can’t even. I am now a Dean girl hellogoodbye.

And Sam. I’m a Sam girl too… I just feel so friggin’ bad for him. What a sacrifice that Sam had to go—not only rescue Lucifer—but actually physically carry him to the car and bring him into his home. LUCIFER. The guy who literally tortured him in every way for years in hell. The guy who raped him and drove him so literally crazy that he couldn’t sleep for months and had to go to a mental hospital. I can’t believe the show is doing that to him, after all they’ve already done.

But, thank Chuck that Cas is still okay. (Except not really because Chuck had nothing to do with it.) But really, I am so glad that Cas is safe, at least sort of, and at least for now.

Also I love Kevin. And poor Metatron.

This episode and last episode are my favorite story episodes so far this season. I normally like monster-of-the-week episodes best, but when we get these great stressful emotional episodes near the end of the season, I just die.

That’s not to say that I necessarily thought everything about this episode was good, just that I love how intense everything is at this point.

I'm real worried about how this is going to get resolved. It looks like just about everyone is going to show up next episode to band together against Amara, and I’m so nervous I’m actually dreading it.

Baby’s Rear View Recap: 11.20 “Don’t Call me Shurley”

This post is about Supernatural season 11 episode 20, “Don’t Call me Shurley,” written by Robbie Thompson and directed by Robert Singer.

*****Spoilers below*****

“Yeah, Toto. I got a feeling we aren't on Earth anymore, either.”

This episode opens on Metatron digging through a dumpster. I loved how it started in with the scary music and ominous banging from inside the dumpster, and then Metatron popped up. Also, way to make us sympathetic to Metatron from the get go. Poor guy. He finally finds some food, and then he gives it to the dog. Then he has a sort of mini break-down, which gave a mini pinch to my heart. Just as he’s given up, he’s magically transported to a bar where “Good Vibrations” is playing. There’s a shadow in the back which turns out to be Carver Edlund, AKA Chuck Shurley AKA Chuckles AKA GOD. That’s right, this is God’s pad and #chuckisgod. Suddenly this episode title makes a lot more sense.

A little funny moment: Metatron spends an embarrassingly long time telling Chuck that he’s a hack-writer, complete with references directly to his work, which is basically meta commentary on the show itself. Love that.

“Just don't use the G-word, okay? Just -- Just call me Chuck.”

After the title card, we return to the bar that looks just like the one from cheers to see Metatron groveling at God’s feet. But God is uncomfortable with that, and asks Metatron to just call him “Chuck.” (But don’t call him Shurley.)

“Dude, quit ironing my shirts with beer!”

Then we swing over to the Winchesters’ bunker where Dean takes a swig of beer before turning back to the ironing. (I love seeing them do the little things like this, I dunno what it is about it…) Sam comes in and shows him what he thinks may be a lead on Amara—a man in Idaho who killed a co-worker unexpectedly. (Doesn’t seem like a lot to go on to me… but I guess they’d be pretty desperate for anything at this point, so I’ll go with it.)

“I like front-row seats. You know, I figured I'd hide out in plain sight. You know, plus, you know, acting is fun.”

And then it’s back to Chuck and Metatron (Chuckatron?) in the bar. Chuck shares what he’s been up to, which is a lot of nothing (Revolution. BAHAHA.) Also, has anyone found God on snapchat? Had to ask. Metatron asks why no one found him and brings up the amulet; Chuck shows him how he can turn it off and on at will. But Metatron wants to get down to business—he thinks Chuck brought him there to destroy him for his sins.

“You know what humanity's greatest creation has been? Music. That and nacho cheese. Even I couldn't have dreamt up that deliciousness. But music is magic.”

It turns out that Chuck is writing his auto-biography and wants Metatron to act as editor. He wants to get the old band back together!

“It was like every negative thought he had ever had came spilling out.”

Back on Earth, the fake FBI is at it again, questioning the officers involved on the murder case. Sam goes to check the files with Deputy Harris while Dean talks to Sheriff McCreedy. The Sheriff tells Dean that the murderer was acting out of character. Meanwhile, Sam notices blackened veins looking at the picture of the dead murderer. He asks the deputy whether she’s seen any fog recently.

“Last time I saw that look on an editor's face, I'd just handed in “Bugs.”

Metatron gives his first impressions of Chuck’s book because Chuck’s on a deadline. He wants more details. Specifically about Amara. But Chuck doesn’t want to talk about it. This isn’t her story; it’s his.

“Listen, I know this might sound odd, but there's a heavy fog headed my way. We expecting any weather like that?”

“No, it's supposed to be clear skies all night.”

Deputy Harris arrives home to meet her husband, but when she does she notices a heavy fog rolling in. She calls it in but then starts coughing as it engulfs her. Her veins turn black and she stands, ready to do something, and it’s not going to be good.

“This is still a safe place, right?”

“Safest place ever created.”

Metatron figures that Chuck just needs to balance the story better—give real estate to more interesting things, like not Chuck. Chuck disagrees. He had a blog! With cat pics! They were super cute! He also learned to play guitar. And dated Becky. Also, some boys. Metatron thinks no one wants to hear about that, but I’m pretty sure lots of fans disagree. Because not only did Supernatural portray God on screen, but they made him bisexual. God is bi! Well, not necessarily bi per se, but definitely not anti-homosexuality. But Metatron just wants to hear about the archangels like Lucifer, God’s so-called favorite. Chuck says he’s not the favorite, but he’s not a villain either.

“There are no revelations in this book! And that's weird, given who you are. There's no new information, no soul-bearing.”
“That's because I don't have a soul.”
“Right! But you invented them. You invented souls! Souls! Try shining a light on that. How did that make you feel?”
“Nauseous.”

Metatron puts his foot down and tells Chuck that he needs to tell the truth like the badass he is. Dance like no one is watching. Richards, all the way.

“Called in for the last time yesterday. Said something about seeing some fog rolling in. I don't know why she cared about the damn weather.”

The boys show up at Deputy Harris’s house after getting a call from the sheriff. The Deputy has killed her husband, and she’s nowhere to be found. The sheriff tells them that the last time he heard from her was when she called in the fog. Dean asks him to let them know if they hear any more about the fog and they head back to the office so they can track Deputy Harris’s car.

“I mean, look what nature created on its own. What's more, nature's smart enough to know that sometimes, there's no fixing things. Sometimes you just have to wipe the slate clean.”

Metatron keeps pressing Chuck. Chuck admits that he created the world because he was lonely. He wanted to fix Amara by showing her that they could create something better; but every time he would create a new world, she would destroy it.

“Okay, call them back, tell them to get inside, shut their windows or doors and seal it up, and stay the hell away from that fog. Then get the word out to everybody in town they need to do the same damn thing.”

Sam is just getting started on tracking the Deputy when a call comes in about the fog. The sheriff wants to call the CDC but Dean tells him there’s no time. When Sam figures out where Harris is, the Winchesters head out to deal with her. They find her sitting in her car, waiting for them. Sam clears the crowd and tells them to get inside. Deputy Harris says that she tried to kill herself, but Amara won’t let her. Not until she gives Dean a message. She tells him that Amara’s holding up a mirror; the light was just a lie—God’s not going to save them; it’s all going away, but not Dean. When Harris raises her gun, the sheriff shoots her. Then the fog comes.

“So you're just gonna let Amara win?”

“Eh it's her time to shine.”

Metatron and Chuck argue about whether Chuck should take responsibility for the Amara situation. Chuck admits that he intends to let her win, and that his memoir is for himself. He’s hiding. Things heat up when Metatron calls Chuck a coward.

“No, I'm not leaving my brother.”

The Winchesters try to save as many as they can; Dean literally has to pull Sam away from a couple as the fog engulfs them. The Winchesters get inside and start duct-taping anywhere air might get in. They hear people outside screaming, and then the people outside start to break in. The duct tape on the vent has failed and Sam goes to fix it. But he’s too late, and he is engulfed by the fog as he doubles over, coughing. As his veins turn black, Dean makes towards him. Sam cries out for Dean to stay away, but he won’t. He gets the others to safety in another room and then turns back for Sam.

“You are light and beauty. Creation. Wrath. Damnation and salvation. And I don't care if I was just the angel nearest the door. You picked me. Your light shined on me—me! Oh, and the warmth. But then you left me. You left all of us. It wasn't just the saps on Earth who were praying to you. The angels prayed, too. And so did I—every day.”
“I know.”
“You want to write the best-selling autobiography of all time, you explain to me -- tell me why you abandoned me. Us.”

Metatron explains that Chuck is wrong about humanity. They may make mistakes, but they never give up. Unlike Chuck.

“We're not gonna make it.”
“No, no, no. There's no quitting here.”
“We're never gonna make it.”

Sam continues to try to block out the fog, but he can’t fight it anymore. He collapses as the fog billows all around. Dean parks himself by his dying brother’s side and accepts his fate—but the fog doesn’t affect him.

“We should probably talk.”

Chuck finishes up what he’s writing and then begins to play guitar and sing. As he does, something in Sam’s pocket begins to glow. It’s the samulet. All of a sudden the fog dissipates and the people recover. Dean and Sam walk through the town and as they do, they see everything bad undone. Deputy Harris reunites with her husband and all is fixed. The samulet leads the Winchesters to Chuck, and the boys are stunned.

Questions:

The most important question: did Sam have the samulet the entire time? I’m confused whether Chuck has some sort of metaphysical copy and Sam has the real one, or if Chuck had it the whole time and magicked it into Sam’s pocket, or Sam had it the whole time and then Chuck magicked it out of his pocket and then back in… but Chuck does say, “you'll never guess where this thing has been this entire time,” which to me implies that it hasn’t been with him. Which leads me to believe (read: hope) that Sam has been holding on to it ever since Dean threw it away.

Also. Chuck really doesn’t care about what’s happening on earth? Should Metatron really have to convince him to care? That doesn’t feel very Chuck to me. And what made him change his mind? Because he seemed so unfeeling after Metatron’s big speech… Did he just want to mess with Metatron and make him believe that he wouldn’t do it? Why, God, why?

And I kind of wonder what those last pages said.

Conclusions:

Talk about Fan Service! No really, talk about it… Do we like this? Is it a bad thing? I honestly loved it in this instance, but I didn’t expect to and I know others didn’t. I’ve gone on-record (not really) saying that I didn’t think that the #chuckisgod theory was supported enough by canon. I can see where it came from for sure, I just don’t think (if it was intended by the writing) the writers followed it through enough when Chuck was actually a character on the show to justify bringing him back and canonizing it. The thing that justifies it then would be Rob Benedict’s popularity at cons and the fact that it’s well known fanon. Hence fan-service. I always regarded it as true fanon, but as canon it’s a bit messy, and it’s kind of a retcon. It really changes the way some of the things in the past come across now. And also, it’s just a big step to take. I didn’t ever think that they would address it. But if they had to put God on screen, I’m sure happy it was Chuck. One might even say, *Shurley* happy.

It’s seems that Robbie Thompson (or TPTB) has been intending to canonize #chuckisgod for some time though, at least since “Fan Fiction” in early season 10. Robbie seems to be kind of known for fan service, which is why so many fans (me!) are so upset that he’s leaving.

I don’t think fan service is necessarily bad. And I am totally behind that Samulet fan service. Give it to me. YEAH. I really hope that the brothers talk about it next episode, and that it comes out that Sam has had it in his pocket the entire time. So much love.

And really, I loved the entire episode. So. Much. Feels. Curtis Armstrong is such a great dramatic actor. I teared up a little watching him fight to be valued by God. And I just love Rob Benedict. And all of the actors did a great job; I loved watching the brothers try so hard to save people and each other, and it was really moving to see Dean care for his brother over everything else.

There were also a lot of great lines in this episode, and I really felt the emotion throughout the story. The music was also great. Seriously, people will be listening to Chuck’s song on repeat for weeks. I know I will.

In conclusion, #chuckisgod.

Okay, I’m done.