Editor’s Note: This article contains spoilers from Season 14 Episode 8 of Supernatural.
This heartbreaking episode starts with Jack lying awake and very weak on his bed with Sam, Dean and Castiel by his side. Jack himself knows that he’s dying and he starts to accept that fact but Dean’s furious about it. He leaves the room and Castiel goes to him to reassure him to go back inside. When they come back inside, it’s too late.
After the intro, Dean decides to give Jack the hunters’ funeral, by burning his body. Sam, who’s not taking it well, decides to leave the bunker with a duffel bag on his shoulder and takes the Impala. Dean, on the other hand, is calling Mary to talk about Jack and later on goes searching for Sam with Cas. When they find him, Sam says he’s just trying to build a pyre when Dean accuses him of making a deal with a demon. Sam fails at making the pyre and the boys go back to the bunker and have lots of drinks.
Just when we think we’re seeing the last of Jack, the scene next shows Jack eating burgers with the boys while Dean teaches him how to read a map. Then Jack notices something wrong when Dean starts to glitch. Jack, being half-angel, knows that he’s in heaven. He gets out of his heaven just in time when the black liquid comes pouring towards him. He manages to escape from the liquid by going inside a little girl’s heaven that turns out that it’s her mother, Kelly Kline’s (Courtney Ford) heaven. Kelly doesn’t know where she is until Jack tells her and they spend time catching up.
Cas thinks that Jack died in a strange way so him and the brothers call an older Lily Sunder (Veronica Cartwright), an angel expert but not really the best of friends with the boys, to help them make a ”miracle”. Lily’s magic is weak but there’s still some magic left in her. With her magic, she and the boys can save Jack but in order to do that, Lily needs Jack’s soul. So Cas volunteers to go to heaven and get Jack. She also wants a trade and that is to go to heaven when she dies, the boys are hesitant but later on agree on her trade. Cas goes to heaven while the brothers call for Anubis to find out where Lily goes when she dies. Unfortunately, Lily’s going to hell and Anubis can’t change that.
As Cas arrives at heaven, he finds heaven’s chaotic with two fellow angels lying weakly on the floor. He finds Duma (Erica Cerra), one of the angels, is still alive and goes with her to find Jack. Later on, Cas finds out that the Shadow of the Empty is hunting for Jack’s soul. Cas and Duma get to Jack quicker but Cas doesn’t realize that the Shadow already takes over Duma’s body. The Shadow’s ready to take Jack’s soul but then Cas sacrifices himself to be taken away but the Shadow wants Cas to suffer by collecting Cas later on when he’s the happiest. The Shadow then leaves heaven without taking Jack. Heaven is back, once again, under control.
After knowing about her fate, Lily regrets helping the boys but after they persuade her, she’s back on board. Then, she prepares and the boys pray for Cas. Lily casts the spell and Cas managed to bring Jack’s soul back to his body. The ritual works and Jack’s back alive and stronger. This episode ends with Lily dies because of the ritual but she ends up going to heaven after helping to bring Jack back because that deed gives her a passage to heaven. This episode also ends with Cas getting the location of where Michael might be from the angel Naomi (Amanda Tapping) as the reward of getting the Shadow out of heaven.
If the previous episode was sad, this one definitely replaces last week’s episode on being the saddest episode so far. This one actually made me cry! When Dean punches the wall after hearing Jack accepts his death and when Jack dies before the intro is outrageous! The episode barely starts! Also, as we know it, Jack has never have the chance to meet Kelly, his mother, because she died giving birth to Jack on the finale of season 12. On this episode, we finally get to see Jack meeting his mother on heaven and honestly, it’s so perfectly acted it brings me to tears. The dialogues the both of them are saying are light and simple but still has a massive impact on my emotions. Everything sad in this episode is perfectly written and acted. Eduardo Sánchez did an amazing job of directing this episode and Meredith Glynn also did an impressive work on writing the script.
As for the acting, I definitely like Erica Cerra’s acting the most but I’m praising her more for her acting as the Shadow more than her act as Duma. Her acting as the Shadow is impressive. She manages to deliver the chilling vibe of the Shadow like when Misha did it on season 13 episode 4 called “The Big Empty“, which was also amazing. I definitely love it too when she detailedly explains how she wants Castiel to suffer first before the Shadow comes for him and she says it in a very eerie voice that gives me goosebumps.
The others also did an amazing job. Jared with his teary eyes when Sam watches Jack dies, Misha when Castiel innocently lets Sam leaves the bunker, Jensen when Dean’s the first one to hug Jack when he gets back and Alexander’s acting when Jack meets Kelly. They are all just fantastic actors and it always is a joy to watch them.
The ninth episode is called “The Spear” and is directed by Amyn Kaderali who previously directed this season’s Halloween special episode, “Mint Condition“, and of course we remember how fun that episode was. Also from the title, I can tell that we might see more of Dark Kaia in the coming episode but let’s just wait for the episode to air. This episode will air next week, December 13th, 8/7c. Go to Supernatural‘s official Instagram and Twitter to stay updated.
Featured Image via IMDb
