“Humans have good intentions but they never truly appreciated the gift they were given. Left to their own devices, humans…they will destroy everything.”
It’s not often a show like Supernatural gives us two separate stories that do not at some point meet up during the episode. Well, “Good Intentions” gives us that type of split tale and, more importantly, moves our characters forward as we come into the final third of season thirteen.
After wondering what’s been going on in Alt-Earth for the past several episodes, we finally get to drop in on Jack’s situation. Though the first perspective we see is the Nephilim waking up in the Bunker, we know it’s some sort of dream. But it’s a bit more nefarious than that. Jack’s being held at the pleasure of Alt-Earth’s Michael and his lieutenant Zachariah, who’s trying everything in the book to break down Jack’s defenses in order to use his abilities to continue their conquest. “This boy can open a rift big enough to march an army through,” Zachariah tells his commander. But like all megalomaniacal dictators, Michael becomes impatient and resolves to break the prisoner in his own way.
Enter Mary Winchester.
Despite being imprisoned and likely tortured for months, the Winchester matriarch doesn’t look too worse for wear. That won’t last long though as Mary gets it: the only reason for Jack to be imprisoned with her is to force him to use his powers lest Mary meet a most uncomfortable fate. While the pair’s subsequent escape seems a bit too coincidental, we do get to see the wonderful Jim Beaver return as Bobby Singer. Sure, it’s not the Bobby we came to know and love (the word “idgits” is never uttered) but the blueprint of the man himself is still there, including the gruff disbelief when Mary confesses Jack true nature to him during their time in the refugee camp.
As good as it was to see Mary and Bobby back onscreen, Jack steals the show. Alexander Calvert portrays the character with such a wild innocence that, as we watch him play with the kids during the camp scene, I can’t be anything but happy for him. It’s easy to forget that, despite his power, Jack is only six months old. Yes, he’s a Nephilim that came out of the box with a bit more horsepower than your average newborn, but his experiences are still extremely limited. That’s why even after his incredible display of power where he saves the camp by tearing apart half a dozen angels, his oath to kill Michael is both admirable and foolhardy. Power he has, maybe even more than Michael, but it becomes not a question of power here and this Michael—driven and ruthless—may be a bit too much for our boy to handle.
Hopping over to our world, Donatello is feverishly working on translating the demon tablet as Cas and the brothers stand by, hands in their pockets. The inactivity does not sit well with Cas who fears that Lucifer, currently in the wind, continues to rebuild his power. And Cas is right: if the Morningstar is able to top off his energy bar, it doesn’t bode well for Team Winchester or the earth in general. But they have their own problems to deal with, problems that become clear with Donatello feeds them false information in an effort to kill all three. Turns out that the translation of demon tablet coupled with Donny’s lack of a soul (I completely forgot that Amara ate it) has made the prophet susceptible to the magic coursing through the tablet.
A good man has been corrupted and, soulless as he is, Donatello is a threat to them all. He’s a wildcard they don’t have time to deal with, not to mention needing the spell to open the rift locked up in his noggin. Understanding the urgency of the predicament, Cas enacts the nuclear option; he rips into Donatello’s mind, extracting the spell but leaving a brain-dead body in his wake. When the brothers challenge the angel on his actions, Castiel reminds them to stop what’s coming, they have to be prepared. Sitting around won’t do it; hard choices will need to be made. After all, “war is coming.”
“And I did what soldiers do.”
Team Winchester now knows what they need to open that rift: the Grace of an archangel, a fruit from the Tree of Life, the Seal of Solomon, and the blood of a most holy man.
“This is the only way we win,” Cas tells them, “and this is the only way we survive. It’s like you said, Dean…whatever it takes.”
The Good, the Bad, the Supernatural
- We’ve all heard how “the road to Hell is paved with good intentions”. That coupled with the words from the false vision of Castiel Jack speaks to, I can’t help but wonder if that’s a foreshadowing of sorts. At the end, Jack resolves to kill Michael for the good of Alt-Earth. But will his crusade end up giving Michael what he wants? Jack may be innately stronger, but will that be enough against an angel created for war?
- The final scene between Castiel and the Winchesters was a powerful one. Cas reminded the brothers what they up against, the choices they need to make. Truthfully, I was a bit miffed at their outrage. Both have done things just as bad as what Castiel did to Donatello. War is terrible and we know that soldiers aren’t the only casualties. Coming back to Dean’s own words of “whatever it takes” checkmated the brothers’ protests. They aren’t just fighting for themselves…there are several billion lives hanging in the balance and with stakes like that, avenues normally not take must be explored.
- This was a heavy episode but not without bits of humor. Dean’s line about “if bacon’s what kills me, then I win” was classic Dean and a pretty accurate assessment of said food’s greatness. Also, the fun yet predictable fight between Gog and Magog also helped to lighten the load a bit.
