Supernatural: The Future

Posted by: Kyle Tetarenko  •  April 28, 2017 @ 12:45am

Filed under: Recaps & Reviews

Ok, this girl has lost her mind.

After weeks without calling or texting, Castiel saunters into the bunker – much to the shock of Sam and Dean. Sam is happy to see him return but Dean has some harsh words for his angelic friend that made so little effort to get in touch with them. Castiel accepts the blame and admits that he was with the angels in heaven but they have nothing. Later on, he tells Dean that he believes this is all his mess and he is doing his best to try and clean up everything. Meanwhile, Sam has found a way that may save both Kelly and the baby but it would involve extracting the child's power and in essence, make the child an ordinary human. Dean rushes to tell Castiel the news but he's gone, along with the Colt. Elsewhere, Castiel, Kelvin and Hozai plan to use the Colt to kill Dagon and Kelly and stop the Nephilim from being born. Naturally, their plan instantly falls apart when Hozai is killed, Kelvin is taken hostage and Castiel flees with Kelly. While on the am, Kelly tells Castiel that she believes her baby is good and that his power can do so much for the world. Castiel doesn't believe her and says that there is no grand plan and that Kelly was just in the right place at the right time to become the mother of the child. Kelly then tells him that she took her own life and died, only to be brought back by the power of her child and that she felt that it was good. After their truck breaks down and they take refuge at a motel, Sam and Dean are able to catch up with them. They tell Kelly how she and the child can be saved but she refuses that option; only to steal the impala with Castiel in the back as they head towards the angel gate to her destiny.

After watching The Future, the episode left me with a lot of mixed feelings. For starters, The Future did a lot to lay the groundwork for the four remaining episodes of season twelve. We now know that the British Men of Letters are plotting to kill all of the American hunters, Crowley is still the king for hell (for now) while Lucifer plots against him and that Kelly and Castiel are on the run to ensure the birth of her child. It's a lot but all of the pieces are set up now that Castiel has made his latest decision that will eventually make everyone's lives more difficult. At this point, it feels like the show is speaking directly to the audience by telling us how depressed Castiel when even Sam and Dean say that he needs a win. Can you really blame them though? Castiel has been one bad decision after the next for quite some time and I don't think we can definitely say he made the right one with Kelly. But Castiel's situation isn't typical as Sam and Dean continue to solve the minor cases but have mostly been on the losing end throughout the season. The Winchesters need a win and they need it badly.

With that in mind, The Future also got into a number of philosophical issues that both helped and hurt the episode. Using Kelly and Castiel, Kelly proposed that her child was good based solely on how she was alive after she took her own life while Castiel argued that there was no grand plan but rather a series of coincidences that led to where they are now. It was all random and her life has simply happened the way that it did. While this did add some depth to each of their perspectives, that depth was shallow at best. This was an opportunity for the characters to reflect on one another's position but except for the opening moments of the episode, Kelly has shown almost no doubt that her child would be good. The problem with that is how absurdly irrational Kelly's character has become throughout the course of the season. Knowing that she carried the child of the devil, that a demon prince was holding her hostage and that an angel told her it was all by chance she still refused to be open to any other explanation. Believing that children aren't born evil (Locke's theory that the human mind is a blank slate/tabula rasa) is one thing but the certainty that Lucifer's child is good is another. Has she never seen The Omen? Having a character that shut out all rational thought made her near impossible to identify with throughout the season thus far. You may argue that she was willing to take her own life but she only took that option when Dagon told her that she would raise her child for evil. For all we know, her child showed Castiel and Kelly the future it wanted them to see.

While it seems that Kelly's child will be born, Dagon will not be there to see it. Personally, I haven't been a fa of Dagon either in her writing or her portrayal by Ali Ahn. Dagon is a prince of hell but Ahn played her as every other demon with dialogue that Supernatural has seen. Granted, the constant pop culture references didn't help but her only goal was to protect Kelly. Now that she's gone the season can move onto bigger and better things.

Overall, The Future asked a lot of big questions but failed to take the time to answer any of them. What we are left with is one less Dagon and a baby that is definitely on its way. We'll see how what comes of it next week in Twigs & Twine & Tasha Banes.

Tags: Supernatural, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki

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