Episode Report Card Tippi Blevins: C+ | 74 USERS: A YOU GRADE IT Deviled Red Herring
By Tippi Blevins | Season 8 | Episode 23 | Aired on 05.15.2013
Of course, what he doesn't know is that Castiel is more or less human now, and unable to call on his old angelic mojo. He's only now coming to, somewhere on the forest floor.
At the same time, the Lair O' Letters goes on some kind of automatic lockdown, complete with flashing red lights and blaring sirens. As Kevin watches, all of the decades-old communications equipment in the hub switches on. The map table lights up with hotspots showing on every continent.
Dean, huddled with Sam against the Impala, looks up just as pinpricks of light brighten the storm clouds. "No, Cass," he whispers, understanding what's happening, but not what caused it. The former angel emerges from the woods to watch with tear-filled eyes as the points of light fall towards Earth. One angel's wings burn away moments before he rockets into a lake, the force of the impact sending up a geyser of water and steam. Sam, perhaps as a symptom of his molecular-level change, seems to feel the impact. "What's happening?" he acts. "Angels," Dean says. "They're falling." Hundreds of them light up the night sky just before the screen blinks to black.
That last scene is actually a beautiful one, and has that great epic feel that the show's finales have been missing for a long time. In that way, it's great. If most of the lead-up can be ignored, it's fantastic. But the lead-up happened. It exists, and, unlike Castiel's grace, it can't be ripped away. Though we've known of the Angel Tablet for a while, the trials (really, a spell) only began in the penultimate episode of the season. Not only that, but Metatron's true motivation only came out in this episode. Would the resolution have been more epic had we been allowed to follow more of this story? Or would a satisfying ending have been snatched away at the last moment anyway? At least it seems that they've set up a potentially interesting storyline for next season. Are the angels fallen like Lucifer? New babies like Anna? Adult humans like Castiel? Does the show itself even know at this point?
Tippi Blevins has been possessed by a recapping demon. Send holy water to b_tippi@yahoo.com, or chant spells at her on Twitter: @TippiB.