Supernatural Think Tank - Anna's Thinky Thoughts on 12x07 Rock Never Dies

I'm going to be honest with you.  I enjoy MOTW episodes more than I do the myth arc eps.  I'm not saying I don't enjoy the myth arc stuff, I'm just saying that I'd rather spend my time watching the boys save people and hunting bad things that go bump in the night.  When I watch a MOTW ep, I compare it to sitting in my nice comfortable warm den that has a soft couch, a big tv and it's small enough, but not too small, that you just feel cozy in it.  When I watch a myth arc ep, it's more like the "for show" living room that has nice comfortable furniture in it, but it's just basically used for company.  It's bigger, cooler and has no tv.  A  nice place to be if you want quiet or want to read, but not really as cozy as the den.  It just doesn't have the same warmth.   I'm not saying I didn't like this episode, I did.  It's just that I found myself, by the hour's end, ready for another MOTW episode.  I just find that those eps not only have more of the boys, ( I totally get that these eps give them time off) but I feel there's more of an intimacy to them. There are more broments, there's more emotion, it's just, for me, more of everything that I love about our show.

Now that all that has been needlessly said, let's get to it shall we. 

On the surface this seems like a cat and mouse chase.  Lucifer is on the loose, once again wreaking havoc, and the boys with the help of Cas and Crowley are trying to find him and stop him. I do think however there was a bit more to this ep than the mere chase. This seemed to me to be

another family themed episode. What seems to be at play here is Lucifer and his resentment towards his once again absent Father. Just when Lucifer thought his Father had meant what he said when he apologised, and that they would forge a new relationship, God left and went off with Amara, to try and renew that relationship. Now we have a Lucifer who is even more enraged, believing that His Father only said what he'd said to simply get what he wanted.  Now Lucifer is not only feeling abandoned, but he believes he was just being used by his Father, which has him so hurt and furious that he's taking it all out on God's toys, his creation, humans.  Lucifer and his unresolved Daddy issues emerge once again.

Is this about Lucifer wanting the love and adoration he had when it came from his Father and his brothers?  This was the question I had begun to ask myself.  Lucifer was the most beautiful of all God's angels.  He was loved by his Father and he was adored by his brothers.  Was one of the reasons that Lucifer was so taken with Sam's vessel in part due to the love and adoration John had for Sam?  They may have butted heads, but it was clear how much John loved Sam.  Now Lucifer chooses another vessel that brings him love and adoration by millions, that kind of power is kind of God-like in a manner of speaking. Lucifer claims he has no plans, that he's just having fun but is it as simple as that?  Is it merely Lucifer having yet another temper tantrum? Is he trying to get his Father's attention once again?  Does Lucifer want to become God himself? How far will he go to get it?

 So, did Sam break anyone else's heart?  He was so genuinely sad at the loss of someone he had admired since adolescence.  Worse than that, he is beginning to not only feel responsible for the loss,  but of the loss of the others as well. What's even more heartbreaking is that he seems as though he's losing hope that they can stop Lucifer. He has battled Lucifer for so long in one way or another, that I fear Lucifer might be wearing Sam down.   I was so happy that Dean not only sensed Sam's despair but came out all guns blazing with his promise that they will in fact stop Lucifer.  Dean did the same thing back in S8 when Sam was beginning to lose all hope after Crowley had killed Sarah.   I just hope Sam believes it.  Sam does have a point though.  Lucifer might not have a grand plan or a specific name for it, like Apocalypse, but the result is the same, the loss of human life on a grand scale.  The only difference I see at the moment, is that it is slower than one grand battle between him and Michael and there is no paradise on Earth when he's finished. 

I don't think that Sam will be the one to make the sacrifice this time, not that he might not make the offer. The Devil in the Details seemed to solidify Sam's determination never to be Lucifer's bitch again. He also seemed to come to the understanding, that being Lucifer's vessel would only result in mass destruction. I don't think Mary was simply brought back so that Dean can have his dream of what his family would be like with mom could be dashed. Mary is the one who started all of this by making a deal with Yellow Eyes. Mary's return to earth by Amara could very well be a gift to Dean, but not the one he thinks. Amara said that she wanted to give Dean what he needed, as he had done for her. Maybe it's not about Mom at all. Maybe what Dean has needed, what he often said he's wanted is Sam safe. I need you to be safe that's what I need. I want you to have a normal life. How many times has he said this to Sam? I need him and he needs me. The only thing Dean has ever really needed was his brother. A life with him, whatever that life may be. So maybe the purpose of Mary is to give Dean what he has always needed and at the same time allowing Mary to finish her unfinished business. I think Mary will be the one to give Dean what he needs. She will be the one to make the sacrifice that Sam might be willing to make himself. Mary will be the one to trap Lucifer....perhaps in the cage? perhaps in the empty....her reward though will be mercy, as promised by Billie, at least that's this girl's humble opinion.

Dean perspective is always a nice touch, at least that's what I got the sense that we were supposed to be getting.  Lucifer and his reaction to his absent father vs. Dean and his to his mom taking time away just after she finally returned.  Do really like that Dean is interacting with his mom and is less angsty about  it all and getting to understand more that it's not them, it's her.

Jared and Jensen were even more stunning than usual, what a visual pleasure to see them in t shirts and leather.  The time they spent in the impala was hysterical.   Dean going on and on and Sam not hearing a word of it had me grinning from ear to ear.  Sam trying to hide the fact that he was listening to Vince Vincente by telling Dean that is was a history podcast was delicious, but not as delicious as Sam standing up for himself and his love of the music all the while making Dean listen to it as he regards it as research.  The person on Twitter was right, this is the first time ever that "shotgun picked the music and driver shut his cakehole". A moment to treasure for sure.  We had to give one to Sam, after all Dean did finally get a chance to win at Rock, Paper, Scissors.  The entire scene was a triumph.    I also enjoyed Dean's guitar playing and was hoping that he would play a little louder, but I guess that would be a little too Jensen and a little less Dean.   I will admit that I was a bit confused by Dean's inconsistent reaction to LA because in Hollywood, Babylon, he noted how he loved that town.  I squeed just a bit when Lucifer tried to keep everyone from escaping and then there's SamFuckingWinchester  with those broad shoulders using all his might to keep the doors from closing...holy hell, all the man needed was a cape and a huge S on his chest.  I have no doubt what so ever that Sam will always beat Lucifer.

I did enjoy Cas and Crowley working together.  I also love that Crowley has so many connections in LA.  Makes total sense if you ask me. I do miss badass Crowley though.  I mean, he is still the King of Hell is he not?  At the very least, is he still not a badass demon?  I just didn't get how Crowley would take no for an answer when the agent refused to give him the address of Vince's secret concert. Crowley has killed in the past for less.  It was very much for me a WTF moment.   I didn't really like the LA feel of the episode.  It's one of the reasons it felt so cold. Perhaps it was supposed to? If that was the intention than it worked like a charm. I did like the call back to SS when Cas called Lucifer "assbutt", but I must say I thought Cas seemed the least powerful out of all of them and he's an angel.  Though he is getting better with the comebacks...I laughed out loud when he told Dean..."at least I don't look like a lumberjack".  Hee Hee

I liked Rick Springfield's stint as Lucifer, he brought a sense of menace back again.  I'm just sorry that it all boils down to Lucifer and his Daddy issues once again.  I know that Lucifer cannot die, but I think the time has come to put Luci back in the box.  The Lucifer story has pretty much played itself out I think and the boys should either get him back in the cage, or get him to the empty, but it's time to put this story to rest once and for all.   There is plenty of bad out there for the boys to deal with.  There are monsters and the BMOL's.  I think it's time to have the boys start dealing with that again, you know get back to the nice cozy warm den. 

Everyone did a great job and the boys ....well they were just freakin' beautiful beyond beautiful....  That pretty much covers it. 

Til next week.  Thanks for reading.  Hope to hear from you.

-Anna