What’s happened to Supernatural Season 13?
Supernatural Season 13 started strong, but the last few episodes have had some questionable moments. What’s happened to the season and the writing?
Supernatural Season 13 started with a bang. Full of throwbacks to previous seasons, it was one that introduced new characters in a strong way and showed some potentially amazing development for the Winchesters brothers.
Then things started to slide. Characters introduced didn’t get much screentime and didn’t feel as dangerous as they could have been. While we’ve heard about Apocalypse Michael multiple times, he’s been in all of three episodes; not enough time to give us any idea just how dangerous this character can really be. And it’s a shame because his introduction goes down as one of my top three for the series.
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Asmodeus was killed off as quickly as he was introduced and the returning faces have been brought in more as fan service than anything useful for the series.
And don’t get me started on the writing! What started off strong has slowly dwindled to something quite lazy when you consider it. One week Lucifer was in Heaven and the next he wasn’t even mentioned and Heaven was crumbling without an archangel. Anyone want to tell us why Lucifer wasn’t still there?
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Gabriel has really taken the biscuit
For the most part, I’ve been able to overlook the bad writing for the stellar writing. The week I questioned all about Lucifer and Heaven, Rowena’s storyline made up for it. The week I didn’t quite like the directing, I appreciated the risk that Robert Singer and Andrew Dabb took with the noir feel; it just wasn’t my cup of tea.
But “Unfinished Business” really took the biscuit for me. Written by Meredith Glynn (who I adored for Episode 4, “The Big Empty“) the episode focused mostly on Gabriel and his revenge. He whined all about his torture for seven years. Now usually I fully appreciate PTSD and revenge storylines like this. I’d like to feel sorry for Gabriel, but there were important storylines completely forgotten about in the episode.
Like Sam and Dean haven't been tortured for years either. #Supernatural
— i love you so much. (@_itsokaysammy_) April 27, 2018
Sam and Dean acted as if Gabriel had the worst torture session in the entire world. Yet, both of them have been tortured in Hell for decades–and possibly centuries for Sam. While Dean’s time in Hell may have been four months on Earth, it was 40 years in Hell. We don’t even know the full extent of Sam’s because his time in the Cage hasn’t been given the detail it deserves.
https://twitter.com/babybro_dean/status/989661782946988033
It’s like the Winchesters’ stories have been completely forgotten about to serve the story of an archangel who personally tortured Sam multiple times. Sam remembered Dean dying 100+ times; reliving the same day over and over again. Then on the last day when Dean was allowed to live, he died again and Sam went months on a revenge kick looking for Gabriel. Yet, Sam feels sorry for Gabriel now? The archangel that just weeks earlier walked away from everything and then expected help for nothing?
Is there gonna be Stockholm syndrome too,in which Sam gonna comfort and express his devotion to his former torturer Gabe.
— Soulless Sam (@ReelLifeMoose) April 27, 2018
Personally, I’m not a Gabriel fan and you can probably tell from that, but I appreciate why some people are. I don’t want to bash the character and I would love to see Gabriel get some sort of redemption arc. If he actually stopped and acted like the end of the world really mattered to him, maybe (just maybe) I’d start to like him. But he’s given me no reason to.
Most of the time I try to look past the bad writing, but “Unfinished Business” was the last straw for Supernatural Season 13. When are we going to get the earlier writing back? What’s happened in this second half of the season that’s led to this?
Oh, and don’t even get me started on this…
// "even if you win, you still lose"
— King Crowley (@TrueKingOfHell) April 27, 2018
REALLY? REALLY? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME, DABB? YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A PLAY ON WORDS THAT MARK WANTED AS CROWLEY'S LAST WORDS AND YOU DIDN'T LET HIM HAVE THEM?! NOW YOU'RE GONNA RECYCLE IT AND USE IT!?
Fuck you, Dabb. // #Supernatural
Next: Is Supernatural trying to apologize for past mistakes?
What do you think of the writing in Supernatural Season 13? What did you think of “Unfinished Business”? Share your thoughts in the comments below.