Supernatural Episode 8-22 Season Finale Review – “Sacrifice”

Reviews, Shows

As with all good things this season of Supernatural has flown by and we have almost reached the conclusion. I say almost because we still have a finale to contend and like they have done in the past the writers, producers and actors have planned some  big surprises and series shacking events all into one amazing episode. Normally this goes without saying but just in case you are new to these write-ups there WILL be spoilers so if you don’t want them, go watch the episode and then comeback so we can rant and rave in the comment section. With that out of the way let’s get rolling since there are a ton of episodes to go.

This episode begins as all finales do with a highlight reel of all the things, places and people have met this year set to a rousing version of “Carry On Wayward Son” which has always got me singing along. Following that we open on Crowley meeting with another figure from Sam and Dean’s past – Sheriff Jody Mills from “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid”. Jody has actually made multiple appearances after her first. She was also in several other episodes like the amazing “Weekend at Bobbys” and others like “Hello Cruel World” and “Slash Fiction” mostly in season 7. Personally I loved her character especially the budding romance that her and Bobby had going on that sadly never truly developed. Anyways, I am getting sidetracked already. Crowley’s plan is of course to kill Jody in an effort to get the boys to give up the demon tablet to him. While Jody is choking to death Crowley calls and gets the boys to surrender. They cut a deal where Crowley gets the Demon tablet and they keep the Angel Tablet and the killings stop.

We can only assume that Jody’s life is saved but knowing Crowley he could have just followed through with it anyway. Slight point to be made here – Crowley never says who he is in the process of killing. Not that this weakens Sam and Dean because anyone dying because of them is too much but I think letting them know it was Jody who was in many episodes and closer to them than most would have strengthened his bargaining position. The boys make their meeting with Crowley and argue the finer points of one of the hilariously long demon contracts. At the right time Dean slaps on the demon handcuffs from the Men of Letters torture room which traps Crowley. The boys are out to kill two birds with one stone. Completing the trials by curing a demon and making Crowley a human.

Meanwhile Castiel and the Metatron are on their own quest to shut the gates of Heaven. The next trial for them is obtain a Cupid’s bow. Using “Angel Radio – the Cupid Band” they find out who the next “victim” is going to be a mild mannered bar owner and decide to wait around for the cherub to appear and make their move. There is a hilarious little scene where Castiel is trying to speed up the process by reading the personals to the bar tender hoping to find a match. Before he can succeed or well make some waves…Naomi appears. She angelnaps the Metatron and disappears back to her douche corner office in Heaven. He wakes up in a dentist chair and is set to be interrogated. Metatron lets Naomi really have it because she and her archangels screwed up the gift of Paradise they were given and made him run out of heaven.

Back at the church – Sam and Dean are prepping the ritual. However to do it they need purified blood which requires Sam to do a confession something which he had only done once in his life before. Unsure of what to say, Dean recommends atoning for all of his errors – releasing Lucifer, killing Lillith, losing his soul, Ruby…etc. With Sam hard at work Dean gets a visit from Cass to ask for help in completing the Angel Trials. After a brief discussion Dean goes leaving Sam alone with the King of Hell. He begins the injections which are part of the ritual we learned about last week. Crowley takes his opportunity to bite Sam to get some blood to do the classic Demon spell that turns it into a kind of radio to seek help. After a bit of a wait Abaddon appears to seemingly come to the rescue. However she sees this as an opportunity to make a bit of a regime change by getting rid of both of them at once. A brief fight scene breaks out before Sam has the bright idea to cover Abaddon in holy water and then set her on fire which causes her to leave her vessel and fly out the window in her demon form. With her gone – Crowley goes into a hilarious attempt to appeal to Sam’s softer side by trying to find an example that would appeal to him. He runs through wars and action movies before finally speaking about “Girls” which gets Sam’s attention. Showing a bit of a human side which is probably due to the injections, Crowley asks how he can start to atone for what he has done.

Dean and Castiel’s first stop on the Angel Trials tour is to visit Kevin Tran to get him to translate what is left of the Angel Tablet. Kevin is obviously very done with the whole angels and demons thing but eventually gets convinced to try by Castiel who gives him a “your never out” speech. After returning to the bar they wait around for Cupid to appear which she does in the form of a beer delivery girl. The match that the heavens have made is not exactly what they expected. Outside the bar they confront the Cupid and ask for her bow. They then call Kevin who says he cannot find anything about a Cupid’s bow or killing a Nephilim in the tablet. Naomi appears before Castiel and Dean to warn them about Metatron. His goal is not to close heaven but to cast out every angel from it and start anew just as God did to Lucifer and his rebel angels. She also warns that upon executing the final trial – the challenger (Sam) will die. Dean rushes to Sam’s side while Castiel goes to the Metatron.

When Castiel arrives he finds Naomi dead and the Metatron freed. He admits to having killed her. Metatron then ties Castiel down and steals his “Grace” which is the last piece of the puzzle. Perhaps he couldn’t take Naomi’s grace because she had done so many bad things but that is never really mentioned. Metatron then says he encourages Castiel to make the best of this new human life and when he dies to find him and tell him the story of his time on earth. Not needing him anymore or have any reason to fear him, Cass is returned nearby the church where the Winchesters are at the moment.

Dean on the other hand stops Sam right as he is about to finish the ritual. Sam apparently doesn’t care very much if the trials kill him. He admits that his confession was not about times when he had let himself down or done bad things but rather all the times he failed Dean. This whole scene is actually one of the most touching “brotherly love” moments they have ever had on the show before. So I am not going to ruin it by summation. For now you need to know is that Sam simply lets the trials go. Sam collapses in pain and Dean takes him outside with just enough time to watch all of the Angels fall from the heavens. It is rather a beautiful image to go out on. Much like meteors streaking across the sky. What a way to end.

“Sacrifice”, as you can tell from my whole write up just plain old gets everything right. The only bummer here is that the trials as a whole seemed to be a mcguffin that fueled the show but ultimately ended up making little impact on a whole or at least the way most viewers would want. For example having Sam die and become the first new Arch-Angel or something to the effect. Personally I am fine with the trials for what they were. As a fan I have been around long enough to know that they do this sort of thing a lot. Also the show even from its beginnings was much more about the journey then it was about arriving. As you can no doubt tell a whole lot happened here and as usual did so with a fine mixture of comedy, drama and suspense. It also leaves with a ton of questions to debate during the “off-season” – How cured is Crowley? What is the world going to do with all these angel-humans? Is Metatron going to make himself God? How do Sam and Dean feel about this supernatural shake up? Are the effects of the trials going to bleed over into next year? Will the boys train Kevin Tran to hunt? Now a mortal does Cass stay involved? Simply a lot to ponder.

It has been a wonderful experience writing about and talking Supernatural with you – the fans. Don’t worry just because the season is over doesn’t mean the posts will stop. There is still plenty of column inches to do best of and worst of Season lists to keep you somewhat entertained until the new season begins. Stay tuned.