Review: Supernatural 12x13 "Family Feud" - by sweetondean

Lord, I still feel like I’m still catching up from Vegascon! And guess who got con crud…late…so I think it’s plane crud, or possibly allergic to work crud – whatever it is, I’m blaming it for my (yet again) tardiness!

Family Feud was another jam packed episode with so much going on, jumping across four storylines – Gavin, Lucifer, Kelly and Mary and all those involved! The last couple of episodes have really pushed the story forward! The back half of the season really is cracking along at one hell of a pace.

I always wondered if they’d ever revisit Crowley’s kid, Gavin. He of the possible butterfly effect. I mean, what was he out there doing that was causing possible havoc with the timeline? We will never know – but that hole in the matrix of time has been plugged and Gavin has gone back to where he belonged and his destined untimely death…. And you’ve got to wonder…. In a season with a risen mum, struggling against being thrown into the present, struggling to fit a world she was never meant for… well, you all watch the show…

Like Mary, Gavin was ripped from his world by a supernatural force. He had to learn to live in a time that he was not supposed to be in. Pulled away from all and who that he loved. His willingness to return not only because it’s the right thing to do, but also because he genuinely saw that as a better option than his current existence, raises great big foreshadowing flags! As does the whole cosmic consequences thing. I’m pretty sure there’s some serious mirroring going on here with Gavin's story and Mary, and we better hold on to our hearts for the breaking that’s going to happen later!

I liked Gavin, I was hoping we’d see him again. I was expecting him to be sent back at some point. I wasn’t expecting him to be a pawn for Rowena to use against Crowley. I love her so much, but boy howdy, when she’s mean, she’s mean! (I do love her though). But did the brothers know how she’d react? They knew how much Gavin meant to Crowley - they saw him protect his son by sending him away - and they know how antagonist the relationship between Rowena and Crowley is. Did they think Rowena would be happy to meet Gavin because she’s his nana, or because she could use him against her own son. Was this why they thought she’d help them out, for a chance to exact revenge while also helping their cause - the saving people (hunting things)…or did they just think she’d want to meet her family? There were little smiles that made me wonder…

Crowley is a bit of a head scratcher. He’s way more emotional than he used to be. I said last week how I think this is due to the Winchester affect – their humanity can’t help but rub off on those around them. I guess it could be the human blood, but we’ve seen his eyes smoking red since then, and it’s been a long time since the King of Hell ingested human O+ (to our knowledge), so I feel like he’s just…changed. He was a lot more affected by Gavin than I thought he would be, he cared a lot more than I thought he would – or at least obviously would. He cared obviously. That was a shock. His eyes even damn well watered up. Rowena cut him deep, there’s no doubt. He really does just want to be loved and accepted, by his mother, by the Winchesters… Geesh! He made me sad sitting on that bench at the end.

And then there’s the Lucifer thing. Um. I know I’ve said this – but what’s Crowley thinking? Would his ego really overtake his smarts like this? What good is going to come out of this? What’s he hoping for - just revenge? He’s not going to win. He can’t. Lucifer will play him and somehow get out and I wouldn’t be surprised if the new Princes’ of Hell are involved. It’s all going to go pearshapped - it has to. As Lucifer said “How do you think this is going to end?”

Also…I knew going down that drain wouldn’t lead to the cage! That just all seemed way too anti-climatic! I didn’t expect a hole to open – but I did expect a little more fanfare – I think you’ll probably all remember how confused I was as to whether Lucifer was actually in the cage again or not – OBVIOUSLY NOT! I feel so much better about that because I couldn’t get why it was all a bit lame with the drain thing. Boy howdy, are the boys gunna be PISSED when they find out. This could be the end of their, for want of a better word, “friendship” with Crowley - and yep, he’ll probably ask for help. I’m kinda excited about it all going south!

We found out a bit more about the devil baby momma drama. Kelly is on the run and the angels are after her. Not sure why Cas can’t track her down if the other angels can! And our new Prince of Hell, the yellow eyed sister, Dagon now has Kelly under her…I was going to say wing but that would be wrong! I liked Dagon a lot. I’m looking forward to seeing more of her. Will she deliver Kelly and her baby to Lucifer as called…or maybe she wants to use the baby’s power for her own gain? 

While I enjoyed the entire episode - it was the scene at the end between Mary and the boys that was the absolute highlight. 

Mary, Mary, Mary – well at least she came clean. Still, her priorities are whack, and I really want to know why. For someone who says she’s sad about being pulled out of Heaven, away from a husband and children, she seems to have less maternal instincts than me, and that is saying something! I want there to be something more to her connection with the British Men of Letters…there must be a better excuse (she says grabbing at straws). 

I think Ketch hit the nail right on the head with his description of Mary, and also hit a nerve with her, which I’m pretty sure was his point. Because the British Men of Letters can’t woo the Winchesters no matter how hard anyone tries, but Ketch knows that chances are their mother can - or at least she’d have a better shot. So put Mary in a situation where she looks at her own behaviour, and feels internally defensive enough that she wants to show that she is a mother over a hunter and that she’s not just lying to her children. I think he manipulated her a treat and sent her straight to Sam and Dean…where she began to come clean - because she needs them to understand and join her, not for the BMoL but for her. How much will she tell them though? Will she tell them about the set up with Wally, the theft, the Colt, any more of the lies that’s she’s told to cover her tracks?

The most beautiful thing here was Sam and Dean. The fucking united front of Sam and Dean. Sam seated, with Dean standing at his brother’s shoulder, arms firmly crossed across his chest giving his mother “the face”. Sam speaking for the both of them, using the word “we”, “mum, we have a history them”, “we don’t trust the Brits”. It was fantastic. FANTASTIC. I’ve gone back and watched that scene over and over. I think it’s become one of my favourite brother scenes because they are so on the same page, the unity in their stance, in their body language IS PERFECT. They are a solid wall of resistance. They look strong and powerful and I damn well loved it so much!

Will they ever trust their mother again? Can they? Should they? Sam will be more capable of trust. For Dean it’s going to be very hard…but I think he would take Sam’s lead. The thing is, the brother’s have lied and betrayed each other over the past, but they’ve worked through all that, they’ve worked hard to forgive, and believe in each other and believe in themselves as brothers; to find themselves again. They’ve been through so much, side by side, so much history, that they could rise about everything else through the bond that they’ve developed through the 30+ years they’ve been together, the love between them, the trust they can’t ever let go of. No matter who Mary is, they don’t have that with her. They have a memory, or a memory of someone else’s memory….a creation. Since Mary’s been back, she’s disappointed them, even if they don’t say it, you can see it in their reactions. She’s not made an effort to be part of their life in any meaningful way, she does not know the tragedy and epic victories of their pasts, she hasn’t spoken to them, she took John’s journal and fled, basically only seeing them in work situations. Maybe their lives would be too overwhelming for her - maybe that’s why she’s not dug deeper. But her take on family does not seem to gel with theirs. She says all the right things, but her actions speak louder than words. Maybe this is the difference between being a Campbell and being a Winchester. Or maybe this is the beginning of something better…. 

Ooooooooooooooo! I’m so excited to see what happens!

So many questions, so much happening, SO MUCH AWESOME!

Thanks for reading, guys! Sorry for the lateness…

-sweetondean