There's a moment in 13.04 where Dean drops a lit match into the coffin of a salted body; him, Sam, and Jack think they are dealing with a ghost. Jack asks if his mother would come back as a ghost, and Sam and Dean tell him no, because what is burned stays dead. It’s not nearly as catchy as Dean's assertion in Season 2, that what's dead should stay dead--but, just as we know that rule would be broken, this one will be, too.
How many times can I say these seasons complement each other? In 2006, Sam and Dean are mourning their father. In 2017, Dean is convinced their mother is dead (again). Sam is less certain; his insistance that she is alive in apocalypse world, and Jack can probably help them find her, continues.
2.06 sends Sam and Dean on a case with Jo, where a very powerful ghost is targeting blonde women (oh, their plights!). It’s very fun to see the Roadhouse crew; in later seasons, I think, Sam and Dean are quicker to warm up to the new players that come into their lives (as much as they pretend otherwise). The distance that remains between Ellen and the boys, and the boys and Jo, makes sense; they don't know each other well. Sam and Dean don't really have a community of hunters; even if John knew Ellen, he never told them about her.
I like seeing Sam and Dean work with Jo; she fits into their dynamic well (siblingly, honestly) and for a moment I imagine a show where she becomes more central to the narrative. How interesting would that be! But, much of Supernatural pushes forward by resetting the boys into isolation; at least, here, there is a pretty good reason.
Dean and Jo continue to bond over their dead dads; Jo asks Dean what is the first thing that comes to mind when he thinnks of John. I think this is a really beautiful question. He tells her:
I was six or seven, and uh, he took me shooting for the first time. You know, bottles on a fence, that kind of thing. I bulls-eyed every one of 'em. He gave me this smile, like... I don't know.
She responds: he must have been proud. I love, love how Jensen responds with a wistful, pained look. Despite the incoming urgency of the psychic kids plotline, Season 2 continues to give Sam and Dean space to deal. I like this slow complicating, of the way John sort of flip-flops in Sam and Dean's mind after his death; how Sam's response is filled with regret because of the constant tension in their relationship, how Dean's is a type of unlearning. The episode ends with Jo telling Dean that John was her dad's partner on his last hunt, that it was his mistake that cost him his life. It's necessary, then, to shatter the aspiration fully.
Back to the graveyard, in 13.04. Dean tells Jack to shovel. Sam scolds him for putting on the “drill-sergeant" routine, like their dad; tells him, “it worked with you, but not with me” and argues it won't work with Jack. In case anyone hadn't gotten the message by now: Dean is emulating John, Sam is emulating Dean, Jack is emulating Sam. Great! I don't think the work of Season 2 is undone with Dean falling-into-his-father as he pretends to process the loss of Cas and Mary, just continually complicated. We're never really done becoming people; what you work out in 2006 will come back in 2017, and again, and again.
In 13.04, it turns out their creature is not a ghost, but a shifter; something has been taking the form of people’s lost loved ones and then murdering them. They trace the victims back to a therapist. Mia is a shifter, yes, but she doesn't hurt people, she helps them. Part of her grief practice is to give people closure, to transform into whoever her patients lost in order to give them a chance to say goodbye. In order to investigate, Sam, Jack, and Dean sort of pose as patients. They learn it's in fact her abusive ex who is terrorizing her patients, but first we get a great little therapy session where Jack doesn't really know what's going on and Sam and Dean snipe at each other with increasing venom, ultimately making Sam storm out of the room. It is what Dean deserves; I like Sam most when he's reacting, proving he is impacted. In the way he sort of re-writes John's legacy because of their strained relationship, he refuses to believe Mary is dead because of his lack of one with her; despite how difficult Dean and Mary's time together ends up being throughout Season 12, it is inarguable their relationship is more central to the plot.
As Sam and Dean argue about whether or not their mother is dead, Jack deals with the reality that his mother definitely is gone and he didn't get to have a relationship with her. He takes Mia aside and asks her to become Kelly. She does, and they have a very sweet heart-to-heart; he says he's afraid he's a monster. She tells him that it doesn't matter what you are, it's what you do1, and even monsters can do good in this world. Hopefully that settles it :)
I find the focus on Mary to be interesting; this episode is effectively about dealing with your lost-mom trauma, Jack learning what loss is (as he's a few weeks old) while Sam and Dean go back and forth with what they can handle. But we know Mary and Kelly weren't the only ones they said goodbye to while burning bodies at the end of 13.01, not the main reason Dean has such beef with Jack; while the boys are on the case, we see Castiel in The Empty.
The Empty is yet another dimension of the afterlife, one we've only heard about briefly; we know it is where angels and demons go, and where no one ever comes back from. But, the universe did not anticipate Jack. Castiel is awake, in a vast, black void, face-to-face with the Empty, taking on his form. He is fighting to get back to Earth. The episode ends with progress; Dean is nice to Jack, tells him he did good. I think of Jo's assumption, that John was proud of six-year-old Dean for shooting with such accuracy, and his complicated look; Jack looks so, so happy at Dean's praise. It makes my heart hurt. As their relationship starts to turn, the source of its tension lessens, too; we see Castiel in a field, released from the Empty. He greets the sun.
Stray Observations
Dean makes a scientology/Katie Holmes joke at the top of 2.06 and it made me laugh so bad>???? Why
Misha Collins LOVES to do a little voice! Every character he plays sounds a little different. In the case of The Empty, it's soooooo deeply embarassing and every actor that portrays the Empty afterwards decidedly does not do a weird accent; despite it all, I respect it. I wish he'd get into voice acting instead of hanging out with the Democrats
I remember watching the first six episodes of S13 in such a rush, it felt like I was holding my breath for hours. Teasing it out slowly like this doesn't really take the air out of it, though - it's a solid, solid start. Even though I KNOW what's going to happen, I can't help but want to let the next episode play…
When the Empty tells Cas “I know who you love" ok ;/
I like Mia a lot. A monster with a normal job! The only shifter storyline that isn't mostly grounded in sexual violence or incel-stuff. Welcome to 2017…
I really like Sam and Jack's conversation at the top of the episode, Sam quickly clarifying that he cares about Jack regardless of what Jack can do for them. He needs to hear that, and he will need to hear it over and over again!
we gotta get Jack some Ms. Marvel comics