A new episode of “Gen V” will stream on Friday (or midnight Thursday), and who knows what insanity will play out then. Last week’s fourth episode of this first season lived up to its legacy of being part of “The Boys” universe, in more ways than one. Let’s revisit some of what happened in that episode to tee up the new one that’s about to drop…
The episode was written by Jessica Chou and directed by “Supernatural” directing alum Steve Boyum, so you’ve got the writer of “The Boys” Herogasm episode and the director of the one where Lucy the whale was killed in a way I haven’t gotten over yet. Clearly, this was going to be an episode that leaves an impression – and it did!
SPOILERS AHEAD FOR GEN V THROUGH EPISODE 4
I’ve Got a Weak Spot for Brothers Named Sam
The saga of little brother Sammy… sorry, Sam….continues in this episode. I’m here for the bonding that goes on between Sam (Asa Germann) and Emma (Lizze Broadway), both of them feeling like outcasts and on their own, especially after she tells Sam the truth that his big brother Luke is dead by his own hand.
You can’t really fault him for reacting emotionally to that news, and neither does Emma, who is remarkably calm in the face of Sam wrecking their hiding place and then confessing that he’s hearing voices. Emma seems able to do the “take me as I am” thing with Sam, and you get the feeling she may be the only one other than Luke who’s ever done that.
Sam’s terrified he’ll fuck it up though.
Sam: Everybody always leaves me.
Emma: I promise, I’m like you.
How terrifying and isolating must it be to have all this unwanted, sometimes uncontrollable power, and also know that your mind is constantly playing tricks on you? I empathize with Sam and I also find him scary as hell, and Asa Germann pulls off that combination flawlessly.
Amusingly, the voice he hears (and the hallucinations he sees) are of “Television’s Jason Ritter” and a The Deep puppet with talking gills on the “Avenue V” show, a Sesame Street/Mr. Rogers crossover that was so out of left field it made me laugh out loud. “Gen V” has a lot of mental health parallels, which means my psychologist self is always fascinated, including Sam’s psychosis. He hears what are called command hallucinations as Jason Ritter calmly insists that Sam just kill Dr. Cardosa from the lab.
Secrets and Lies with Tek Knight
Another storyline of this episode is celebrated God U alum Tek Knight (Derek Wilson) returning to the school to film an episode of his show exploring strange mysteries – in this case what happened to Golden Boy? He locks horns with the Dean (Shelley Conn) immediately, using his heightened senses to figure out when he’s gotten to her.
Tek: You’re sweating, adrenaline is seeping from your pores. Oh, and you’re ovulating.
Dean: You must be fun at parties.
Of course, Knight isn’t there to find out the truth, he’s there to cover it up – through “the usual – misdirection, obfuscation, find at patsy, destroy their life.” The Dean warns him to stay away from the school’s Top 5, but Knight interrogates all of them, making a show of breaking Marie (Jaz Sinclair) eventually. She admits that it was Jordan who took down Golden Boy, not her.
Knight has to admit that he can’t pin Golden Boy’s death on any of the kids, though. So, he threatens the Dean that he’ll pin it on her instead. Never underestimate some of the characters in this universe – Dean Shetty asks to meet him in an isolated actual woods and tells him she knows about the brain tumor he has, and that it’s the cause of his “unusual proclivity”. Which turns out to be him fucking anything with a hole – a car, a log, a vacuum cleaner, a traffic cone, a skull…
And yes, of course she has video. Flip that power dynamic, at least for now.
Oh No, Not AlCal!
“Supernatural” fans love Alexander Calvert, who played Jack aka God on that show for its last few seasons. Having had the pleasure of chatting with him several times, he’s also just plain nice. Not so much his character Rufus! We saw how that went for him in previous episodes, but this episode finds him over the whole ‘Jumanji’ thing and back to being a jerk.
Marie asks him for help finding her sister and he uses that to manipulate her – she comes out of a trance in his room, Jordan (Derek Luh and London Thor) pounding on the door and Rufus wearing just a robe and clearly intending to assault her in some way. (Poor Alex, his character’s introduction on “Supernatural” also featured him naked… but hey, this is a “The Boys” tradition, just ask Jensen Ackles about his Soldier Boy intro).
Jordan’s knocking interrupts Rufus enough that Marie realizes what’s going on, and in a panic, she starts pulling the blood from his exposed penis. In a scene typical only of “The Boys” universe, it swells and then explodes, the head blowing off, blood splattering all over a shocked Marie. A cocksplosion, if you will. I don’t even have a penis, but OUCH!
Marie and Jordan connect after in an adrenaline-fueled makeout session until they’re interrupted by Emma – who tells them Sam has gone after Dr. Cardoza. The gang (Scooby gang, should we call them that?) shows up in time to prevent Sam from killing the doctor or his terrified daughter, trying to calm Sam down by reassuring him that they loved Luke and tried to help.
The BIG Finish
My favorite part of the episode is the surprise we get next – Emma shovels a whole meal into her mouth in desperation and then walks out very very large (and very naked) and holds Sam down, telling him it’s all right, they’re in this together.
And then the screen glitches black – and when it returns, Marie wakes up beside Jordan. She looks as confused as I did, and I confess I spent a minute trying to figure out if the episode was glitching or if that was intentional. What happened? Was there a time jump or rewind? Did Rufus still manage to do something to Marie’s consciousness? Did someone else intervene?
Hopefully, we find out in the next episode. I only had time to scratch my head for a minute before the last scenes played as Tek Knight wraps up his investigation and then attempts to screw the hand dryer in a restroom. You can’t make this up. I admit I laughed out loud.
All In for Emma
It’s obvious that I’m an Emma fan, and I’m still chuffed about her becoming supersized instead of tiny. Now that’s a super power! It’s also right in line with the parallel the show drew, with Emma’s need to purge and make herself small and nearly invisible, to real life eating disorders. This is Emma daring to make herself large and in charge and very visible indeed, and I kinda love it.
Episode 4 fits right in with “The Boys” universe – it’s got sex (Andre and Cate are a thing now too, along with brand new Marie and Jordan), it’s got violence and blood and gore, it’s got sex and violence and blood and gore all mixed together in the most disturbing ways possible. It’s got humor (still laughing about all the holes Tek Knight finds and can’t resist). And, as Eric Kripke likes to point out, it’s got heart. The surprisingly tender new bond between Emma and Sam is currently my favorite illustration of how true that is.
And to add to my instant affection for a little brother character named Sam with floppy hair; a teaser tweet this week with Asa Germann lets us know that he’s a Soldier Boy fan. I knew I liked you, Sam!
A new episode of “Gen V” drops this Friday (or, as Eric Kripke admitted, let’s be real, probably late Thursday night) and I can’t wait! If you haven’t been able to watch the first three episodes which were released last week, here’s a little recap of what happened in those episodes – and why I’m so excited about the next ones!
WARNING: SPOILERS FOR EPISODES ONE THROUGH THREE AHEAD
The show takes place at Godolkin University (God U, get it?), where the first generation of superheroes who actually know how they got that way (ie, their parents shot them up with Compound V) is arriving for the start of classes. We’re introduced to the main characters, including Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair), whose perspective largely frames these episodes.
There’s also Luke, aka Golden Boy (Patrick Schwarzenegger), top ranked and stereotypically attractive, and his girlfriend Cate (Maddie Phillips), who has to wear gloves most of the time because if she touches you she can mind control you.
Andre (Chance Perdomo) is the son of a Supe and in line to be one of the Seven himself if his dad has anything to say about it, Jordan (London Thor and Derek Luh) is the bi-gender child of two highly driven parents, and Emma (Lizze Broadway) is Marie’s roommate, whose superpower is that she can make herself tiny.
“Gen V” takes the same cynical look at where we are as a society in terms of what we value and how we relate to each other. Social media, crafting an image, and cultivating followers and popularity is a legitimate major at God U, and the vast majority of students are all in.
As soon as one of them gains some recognition, they can’t walk across campus without repeated requests for selfies, and most fellow students can’t be trusted with any personal information. Emma learns this the hard way when she’s manipulated by a classmate into talking candidly about herself, only to have that used as fodder for the girl’s viral TikTok.
The adults are corporate power-hungry manipulators too, as we’ve come to expect from Vought. The first episode introduces us to the aptly named Professor Brink Brinkerhoff (Clancy Brown), who’s about as much of a stereotype of a narcissistic full professor as you can get – I admit, as a professor myself, I thoroughly enjoyed the caricature.
He’s got the power to decide who gets to be part of the Crimefighting School – similar to the coveted admission to the Business School in a few real life universities – and he’s got his favorites. He summarily rejects Marie before Golden Boy turns on his mentor and takes him out of the picture, opening up an opportunity for her to get in. Dean Indira Shetty (Shelley Conn) is an enigmatic woman who can seem incredibly warm and nurturing, and then you get a glimpse of her face when the target of her warmth can’t see it and realize she’s as cold as ice. Andre’s dad, who was the Supe Polaris, is just as icy in his determination to see his son become number one – and maybe one of the Seven.
One of the narratives that “The Boys” universe has explored in all its versions is parenting, for better or worse (usually for worse…). In the original show we eventually learned what Annie’s mother and other parents had done to their children with Compound V for mostly selfish reasons, and in the animated Diabolical, we saw the costs of that selfishness in brutal detail for the kids.
“Gen V” continues that exploration, and not just with Andre’s father. Emma’s mom is similarly invested in her child’s “success”, essentially telling her to suck it up and do whatever it takes to find some popularity no matter what the personal cost. Jordan’s mom and dad are the “driven Asian parents” who refuse to see their child for who they are and instead want to have a successful son – whether or not they identify as a son or not.
True to every Eric Kripke show ever, that’s not all the show has to say about family though. Like “Supernatural” and “The Boys” and every other show he’s put his creative touch on, “Gen V” is also about the importance of family bonds – especially sibling bonds – and what that inspires. Of course, the sibling bonds on this show are fraught and sculpted by trauma, because this is the universe of “The Boys after all.”
Marie is desperate to find her little sister, who was separated from her after she got her first period and her powers manifested as the ability to control blood – which she hadn’t harnessed at all and thus it became a weapon that accidentally killed both her parents and traumatized her younger sister. Luke is desperate to find his little brother (who’s named Sam and has floppy hair so that every “Supernatural” fan was instantly a million percent invested in that relationship).
We don’t find out what happened to Sam (Asa Germann) until the third episode, but let’s just say I’m already feeling very protective of him! Cate also has a missing sibling – when her powers manifested, she didn’t know she had them, so when she told her little sister to “go away and never come back” on a family camping trip, that’s exactly what happened.
Nothing more compelling than a big brother or sister looking for their little brother or sister, frankly. You’ve got me, “Gen V.”
The other compelling narrative that runs through “Gen V” is one that we explore deeply in our new book on “The Boys” coming out in December (Supes Ain’t Always Heroes) – the impact of trauma. Every single human who becomes a Supe is traumatized in some way. They’ve been manipulated and used, first by their parents who gave them Compound V without their permission or understanding, and subsequently by a string of power-hungry adults who want to use them too.
The fact that the parents shot their kids up with a substance that they had no idea how it would impact their child is just plain chilling – and, it turns out, just plain dangerous. We don’t know a lot about Andre’s backstory yet, except that he has a Supe for a dad and that never turns out well, but the other main characters have all experienced significant trauma as a result of being dosed with V and having parents willing to do that.
“Gen V” does something interesting with some of its Supe powers that I haven’t entirely figured out yet. All the shows in “The Boys” universe love to comment on reality and current society using the lens of fiction (another thing I love about them) and “Gen V” does too.
Parallels are always there just under the surface, or sometimes right there on top of it. Marie’s power manifests for the first time as she reaches menarche, and instantly becomes destructive, which I’m tempted to say is some kind of commentary on either how dangerous it is to be a woman in this society or how much men perceive women as dangerous and therefore need to keep them down in some way. She wields it intentionally through cutting, but again, this isn’t portrayed as serving the same function that self-harm does in reality.
Emma’s power only manifests when she purges repeatedly, becoming smaller each time. It sounds like a metaphor for an eating disorder or for the kind of depression that makes someone want to just fade away and not exist anymore. (Interestingly, it’s not portrayed as an eating disorder, and Emma protests everyone trying to put her in that box and use it for social media drama).
Jordan being bi-gender is tempting to see as a parallel for being trans, though Jordan can choose which gender to be and make it happen instantly and also has the freedom to switch back and forth, a choice that doesn’t exist in reality. Nevertheless, the stigma is portrayed realistically, with Ashley refusing to move Jordan too far up the ranks because “a bi-gender Asian with pronoun fuckery, try selling that to Dallas or Fort Lauderdale!”
Yes, there’s racism and homophobia and corporate greed and all the other issues that “The Boys” universe tackles so well in “Gen V” too. There’s also, as Kripke points out, a lot of heart.
It’s the characters that I find most compelling in both its parent show and in this one. There’s also plenty of mystery going on – what happened to Luke’s little brother? What is “the woods” and why is everyone keeping it a secret?
As with all secrets, there’s plenty of violence doled out to keep it that way, and because this is “The Boys” universe, that comes with plenty of explicit blood and gore. The show knows how to create shock value, whether it’s bits and pieces of a human being blown to bits forty yards overhead and raining down on the guy’s friends (goodbye, Golden Boy…) or a tiny human taking out a sadistic guard by crawling in one ear and out the other, decimating his brain along the way.
And of course, there’s plenty of sex too – and it’s always creative. Kripke and company are never afraid to poke fun at masculine insecurity, so the guy who only wants to be with Emma when she’s tiny so she can climb on his dick (literally) and have it look gigantic is both hilarious and pointed. (I might have cheered when she slapped him on the balls though). “Supernatural’s” Alex Calvert makes an appearance as a jerk too, who Cate mind controls into repeatedly hitting himself in the balls with a bat and yelling ‘Jumanji’. You can’t make this up!
I won’t go through everything that happens, but we leave our main characters in a tough spot at the end of Episode 3. Marie has been drawn into taking some much-needed maternal solace from the Dean, only to find she was just being used to get donors to open up their pocketbooks and approved of only when she stays on script – literally.
Andre, who truly loved his bff Luke, has tried to be a hero for real and gotten in return only his father’s censure and warning to cut it the hell out. Jordan saved the day when Luke tried to kill Marie and others, only to get no credit for it and be faced with parental disappointment at who they really are once again. Cate joins Andre for some actual heroics and depletes herself physically in a frightening way as a result.
And Emma is perhaps the most heroic of all, proving that strength and wits and heroism can indeed come in (very) small packages and size isn’t what matters – but she also ends up in a very sticky situation.
Will she escape? Can anyone help little bro Sam? Will they solve the mystery of The Woods or will the powers that be force them back into the manufactured Supe slots they’re supposed to dutifully stay in? Will Ashley be able to figure out what to do with all that Golden Boy merch??
Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters serve as showrunners and executive producers for “Gen V.” Eric Kripke, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Neal H. Moritz, Ori Marmur, Pavun Shetty, Ken Levin, Jason Netter, Garth Ennis, Darick Robertson, Craig Rosenberg, Nelson Cragg, Zak Schwartz, Erica Rosbe, and Michaela Starr also serve as executive producers on the spinoff series. Serving as co-executive producers are Brant Englestein, Sarah Carbiener, Lisa Kussner, Gabriel Garcia, Aisha Porter-Christie, Judalina Neira, and Loreli Alanís. The series is produced by Sony Pictures Television and Amazon Studios, in association with Kripke Enterprises, Point Grey Pictures, and Original Film.
I had high expectations for the new spinoff series from the universe of “The Boys” simply because I love the original series so much that it’s a treat to be able to have some more of it. At the same time, I was hesitant. I’m not exactly college-age – would I be able to relate to these characters who are in the throes of adolescence?
The official synopsis sets the new show at…
Godolkin University, the prestigious superhero-only college where students train to be the next generation of heroes—preferably with lucrative endorsements. You know what happens when supes go bad, but not all superheroes start out corrupt. Beyond the typical college chaos of finding oneself and partying, these kids are facing explosive situations … literally. As the students vie for popularity and good grades, it’s clear that the stakes are much higher when super powers are involved. When the group of young supes discover that something bigger and sinister is going on at school, they’re put to the test: Will they be the heroes or the villains of their stories?
That’s a familiar question for this universe, but the fact that it focuses on these kids was a bigger question for me. Turns out, I didn’t have to worry. Within five minutes of watching Episode 1, I was already on the edge of my seat and forgetting to take notes. It’s the same feeling I had watching Season 1 of “The Boys” – the sensation of being on a roller coaster that’s going a little too fast and nearly skidding off the track as I hold on for dear life. Sometimes I definitely gasped in surprise, sometimes I laughed out loud, and of course, there were some “ewww” exclamations, because this wouldn’t be the same universe if there weren’t.
But, surprisingly, there were also moments where I empathized with what the main characters were going through – especially Jaz Sinclair’s Marie Moreau. The first episode mainly follows her story, and by the time the episode was drawing to a close, I found myself caring about her already.
I should have expected it after being surprised to find myself caring about some characters on “The Boys” that I probably shouldn’t have, but I thought it might be different with teenagers. I guess good writing is good writing and good acting is good acting!
What “Gen V” does that its parent show also does so well is give us just enough backstory to make the characters sympathetic, with tragedy depicted in a visceral (sometimes literal) way that lets you really feel just how tragic that moment is. The show doesn’t shy away from blood and guts, just like “The Boys,” but the violence is often used to underline the shock and horror that we all feel when faced with tragedy, even the sterile non-bloody kind.
The other characters who are introduced in the first episode are also memorable, especially the ambivalent-about-being-ambitious Andre, enigmatic Jordan who is sometimes female and sometimes male, the golden boy of the school who is actually called Golden Boy because that’s hilarious, and Marie’s roommate Emma. Emma is already a favorite of mine, with a superpower that isn’t taken seriously or valued highly and an arsenal of defenses covering up a world of hurt. I’ve got a soft spot for her for sure – don’t kill her, show!
“Gen V,” like the other shows in this universe, manages to be unrealistic and over the top while at the same time making some pointed commentary on the real world. Sometimes it’s subtle, sometimes it’s intentionally hit-you-over-the-head with the parallel, but it’s almost always biting – and I love it.
Special shout out to Episode One’s ability to parody every University’s overly sincere posturing, from motivational posters on the walls (“The Deep was once a kid just like you. He says: Honor is doing the right thing when no one is looking”) to the Dean of Students insisting that they’re a family and telling students they appreciate “the unique culturally rich change agent that you are.” I got stuck between eye-rolling and laughing out loud recognizing the familiar rhetoric of every University I’ve taught at over the years.
“Gen V” retains the cheeky references that the original series included, with shoutouts to CW stalwarts like “Riverdale” and “Pretty Little Liars” and supe students claiming to be “super focused” or “super inclusive” or “super abled”. I might have squealed out loud to see Alex Calvert, Supernatural’s own Jack, as one of those students. The show can be a heady mix of serious social commentary one second and outrageous sex scenes the next, with some creative super powers constantly going on in the background. There’s also a mystery that’s introduced right from the start, something ominous and dark that is downright scary – like a little touch of “Supernatural” snuck in to spice things up even more. I like it!
One of the other things I relish about the universe of “The Boys” is the masterful and thoroughly enjoyable social media presence the show has cultivated. It’s been so much fun to watch the Vought account interact with The Boys account, and now “Gen V” has been added to the mix. Fans have played along and responded to social media posts with in-universe commentary, making the whole experience extra meta (and extra amusing). Oh, and is there anything more appropriate than the official Astroglide account getting in on the fun??
Today’s Twitter/X back and forth had Vought CEO Ashley and Kimiko disagreeing about whether you should trust Vought – or definitely not trust Vought.
I don’t trust Vought at all, but I do trust Eric Kripke, and once again he hasn’t let me down. I’m already looking forward to more of this wild ride – streaming tomorrow on Prime Video. Stream it yourself and ride along!
As A Train says, I hope you survive the experience…
The “Gen V” cast includes Jaz Sinclair, Chance Perdomo, Lizze Broadway, Shelley Conn, Maddie Phillips, London Thor, Derek Luh, Asa Germann, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sean Patrick Thomas, and Marco Pigossi. Gen V also features guest stars Clancy Brown and Jason Ritter, as well as appearances from Jessie T. Usher, Colby Minifie, Claudia Doumit, and P.J. Byrne, reprising their roles from “The Boys.”
Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters serve as showrunners and executive producers. Eric Kripke, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Neal H. Moritz, Ori Marmur, Pavun Shetty, Ken Levin, Jason Netter, Garth Ennis, Darick Robertson, Craig Rosenberg, Nelson Cragg, Zak Schwartz, Erica Rosbe, and Michaela Starr also serve as executive producers on the spinoff series. Serving as co-executive producers are Brant Englestein, Sarah Carbiener, Lisa Kussner, Gabriel Garcia, Aisha Porter-Christie, Judalina Neira, and Loreli Alanís. The series is produced by Sony Pictures Television and Amazon Studios, in association with Kripke Enterprises, Point Grey Pictures, and Original Film.
Ryan Reynolds’s “Free Guy” seemed like a surefire sequel back in the day, but now after talking to our people at the Mouse House, “Free Guy 2” will not be happening. “While there’s been plenty of speculation about a sequel,” our source said, “Ryan’s got enough on his plate already, and we feel that the time has passed for a sequel, right now. That’s not to say something might hit in the next five to ten years, but for now, it’s on an indefinite hold.”
We’ve seen this before with many films that seemed like a ready-made sequel, but thankfully, rather than pump out something, Reynolds knows that’s it better to not pump out another film that would disappoint.
Free Guy 2 Speculation
Let’s take a stroll down memory lane to a time when the world was still grappling with the aftereffects of the pandemic, and the entertainment industry was striving to regain its former glory. Enter “Free Guy,” a gleaming beacon of success for Disney, with director Shawn Levy and the versatile Ryan Reynolds bringing a fictitious video game world to life on the big screen in 2021. The film’s unexpected triumph had Disney promptly eyeing a sequel, dreaming of the fascinating tales Guy could unravel in another adventure.
Fast forward to now, the burning questions on everyone’s lips are: “Is ‘Free Guy 2’ still in the cards? Why the delay? And how does ‘Barbie’ fit into this puzzle?” We’re here to delve deep and share what we know about the anticipated sequel!
While Disney, Levy, and Reynolds have remained tight-lipped about the sequel’s delay, it’s evident that these creative maestros have been juggling a myriad of projects since 2021. Reynolds, a man of many hats, has been entwined in his ventures including Aviation Gin, Mint Mobile, and a co-owned soccer team, showcased in Hulu’s “Welcome to Wrexham.”
Deadpool 3
Above all, the duo has been deeply engrossed in another Disney marvel— “Deadpool 3.” Levy helming the direction and Jackman reprising his Wolverine role made the film a priority for Marvel Studios, leaving scarce time for Guy’s next escapade.
While these reasons are practical, the astronomical success of “Barbie” brings an unexpected twist. Greta Gerwig’s masterpiece, earning a whopping $1.4 billion, shares thematic parallels with “Free Guy,” posing challenges to the sequel’s development, as revealed by Levy to Coming Soon.
The spark of a sequel was kindled when “Free Guy” topped the box office charts in August 2021, with Reynolds sharing Disney’s interest in a follow-up on Twitter. However, Disney has yet to confirm a release date or script developments.
Levy hinted at exciting prospects for Guy’s next journey but remained elusive about the specifics. The similarity between “Free Guy” and “Barbie’s” plots might necessitate fresh, innovative ideas to avoid redundancy. The sequel’s potential narrative is so expansive that speculating its plot seems almost futile at this point.
Currently, the casting is speculative, with only Reynolds confirmed to reprise his role as Guy. The return of other beloved characters seems likely, but it’s all in the realm of speculation until further announcements.
No Free Guy Surprises
In this intriguing sequel saga, who knows what surprises await? Perhaps Reynolds might persuade Rob McElhenney to join the cast, adding a meta layer to the narrative, considering McElhenney’s role as a game creator in Apple TV+’s “Mythic Quest.”
So, as we wait with bated breath for more updates on “Free Guy 2,” let’s keep our fingers crossed for another rollercoaster ride with Guy and his friends, exploring unseen dimensions and unraveling newer, thrilling adventures! Now we know to let our breath out and get excited for the new season of “Welcome to Wrexham,” and the next “Deadpool” movie.
We’ve got some great “The Boys” news! Anyone who follows us on social media or our articles here knows that we LOVE Prime Video’s brilliant streaming series “The Boys.” There’s nothing that Eric Kripke puts his creative touch to that I won’t watch, and I was hooked on “The Boys” from the start. The show fascinated me with its deft storytelling, complicated characters and refusal to paint the world in black and white, instead showing the shades of gray that make the real world so confusing at times. “The Boys” wasn’t afraid to tackle issues that we’re confronted with on a daily basis – racism, misogyny, sexism, prejudice, homophobia – even social media! And the show did it in a way that was sometimes shocking, sometimes disturbing, but always entertaining. Add to that a talented cast that could show us all the sides of these complex characters, and you have the recipe for an extraordinary piece of media.
The show has only gotten better over its three seasons, with Season 3 adding Jensen Ackles to the stellar cast as Soldier Boy. I was already a fan of Ackles’ Dean Winchester on “Supernatural” for 15 seasons, but his portrayal of Soldier Boy absolutely blew me away. That season not only upped the ante in terms of shocking scenes that you never thought you’d see onscreen (and probably hoped you wouldn’t, to be honest), but also added an exploration of toxic masculinity to the show’s themes, and the lines between right and wrong grew even more blurred for both the Supes and the Boys. Just like in real life!
“The Boys” and its cast and crew are currently in consideration for multiple awards, which in my humble opinion they 100% deserve. In fact, I think this show is so groundbreaking and so provocative and so brilliant that I’ve put together a whole book about it, along with my long-time colleague, Dr. Matt Snyder – Preorders are now open for ‘Supes Ain’t Always Heroes: Inside the Complex Characters and Twisted Psychology of The Boys’! If you preorder, you’ll also get bonus content of original The Boys artwork featuring Karen Fukuhara as Kimiko and Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy.
The book is a deep dive into what makes the show so powerful, with chapters by psychologists, media experts, filmmakers and more, including exclusive interviews with The Boys comics co-creator Darick Robertson and actors Jensen Ackles (Soldier Boy), Aya Cash (Stormfront), Nathan Mitchell (Black Noir) and Jim Beaver (Robert Singer). Figure out what makes all the show’s complicated characters tick, from the perspectives of psychologists, sociologists and the talented actors portraying them, and explore how the show has an impact on our real world through its fearless depiction of this fictional one.
We believe in changing the world just like “The Boys,” so every copy purchased benefits the Venice Family Clinic, with a portion of proceeds from both author and publisher donated to this charity’s life-saving work.
If you love “The Boys,” don’t be afraid to go deeper (Deeper?) – just be careful not to sneeze!
Tonight is the season finale of “Walker,” and the fandom is going into it in a celebratory mood – because a few days ago we got the good news that the show has been renewed for a fourth season! Yeehaw!
Last week’s episode, airing in the midst of the writer’s strike, was titled ‘It Writes Itself’ which sounds like a commentary on the importance of writers or a critique of the use of AI in writing, but is actually referring to a speech that Cordell is struggling to write and the work he has to do on himself to be able to be in a place to do that. The episode was actually a remarkably feel-good episode – for the most part.
It kicks off with the Walker Rescue celebration, which featured lots of pretty horses and some of the fandom as extras, so that was fun. James confides to Cordell that he’s getting married to Kelly again and asks him to officiate the wedding – with a caveat.
James to Cordi: When in doubt, do not make a joke…
(This could just as easily have been directed to Jared Padalecki, as most fans of his infamous dad jokes know…)
Abeline and Bonham offer to have the wedding there, so that’s more reason to celebrate. Liam and Stella celebrate realizing their shared dream and cut the ribbon – but I’m sad that neither Ben nor Colton are there.
The guys plan a bachelor party (which initially they include Cassie in) – an overnight at Racer Ridge to go fishing. Cassie is not in, however, since it’s not the usual pub crawl and debauchery.
Cassie: I was born in Brooklyn. I draw the line at tents.
The guys head out at dawn on horseback, Trey asking ‘there aren’t any bears, right?’ which made all the Jared Padalecki fans laugh because of his well-known fear of bears lol
Meanwhile, Augie is filling out online applications for joining the Army but doesn’t tell his dad.
Cordell surprises James with his son DJ coming along on the ride – which was awesome to have him back on the show even briefly.
Also, awesome? Getting to see so many pretty horses in the beautiful Austin scenery.
And Cordi looking damn good in a denim jacket and black hat, Trey fishing in a tee shirt (and spraying bug spray on his bared tummy), and Liam chopping wood. This shows knows its audience. My guess is all the cast had a fabulous time riding horses and fishing and roasting marshmallows and playing football together, and who can blame them? Giddyup!
The only problem is, Cordell keeps having flashbacks to his time serving every time he tries to work on writing some meaningful thoughts down for the upcoming wedding.
Shades of “Supernatural” Sam Winchester sitting against a tree with the journal…
Anyway, that means we get treated to more of Colin Ford as young Cordell, which is always a treat. I will never cease to be amazed at the brilliant casting that found Colin as a very young kid to play young Sam Winchester, and all these years later he still looks like a young Jared Padalecki and is still playing that role!
Liam knows something is wrong and tries to get his big brother to open up about it, but Cordell keeps trying to say he’s fine. His flashbacks get in the way of a football game as Cordell freezes and loses his sense of time and place, back in the war holding a gun instead of a football.
Liam reassures Cordi when he’s feeling guilty that he’s found time for his son and family too, and again asks what’s wrong, confronting Cordi.
Liam: I know you. Just talk to me.
Cordi: I keep reliving the past. Every time I go to write something down, I see these images, visions…
Liam: Maybe you shouldn’t try to get past them. Face them, that could help you heal.
Cordell is scared, wanting to hang onto the good in his life and not go back to confront the bad, having seen what the trauma has done to so many other veterans. That’s a pretty realistic fear – it can seem like it’s safer to keep the status quo, try to push those traumatic memories out of awareness. The problem is, it often doesn’t work.
Eventually, Cordell can’t ignore it any longer, and he meets his younger self skipping stones in the creek. What an absolute treat to have a scene with Jared and Colin interacting!!! Young Cordi tells Walker that he’s carrying an incredible weight and it’s crippling him.
Walker: Well, that’s the story of my adult life.
Young Cordell: If you don’t confront the past, you’ll be held down by it. There’s one more tough conversation you need to have, and when you do that your life and your future will be just that. Yours. Good luck, Ranger.
Cordell: Thanks, Corporal.
(I would add that this makes it sound a little too easy – Cordell is still going to have plenty of healing to do if he’s having persistent flashbacks, hopefully with the help of a good therapist. I’m gonna hope that we see that, but if we don’t, I’m gonna head canon it for sure. I appreciate that this show isn’t afraid to tackle trauma and loss, but it’s a great idea to get some professional help if the trauma is deep enough to have these kind of intrusive flashbacks).
There’s a detour where a Copperhead snake ends up nearly under Trey’s boot and he freaks out (who can blame him?). Walker manages to trap it under a bucket, and then a Park Ranger shows up to check on how they’re doing and takes it away with her after informing them they’re camping in a No Burn Zone. She did not seem sus, but…
The riders meet up with Abeline and Bonham and a horse trailer after their ride. It seems like Bonham might know what August is planning, but Cordell doesn’t – he asks but Augie keeps denying anything’s going on.
And then a police vehicle shows up – with Coop. The officers give them five minutes. Bonham thanks Coop for having his family’s back and shakes his hand, which is very generous considering the pain he caused Walker for all those years of deceiving him.
The two men have a long overdue conversation. Cordell says he was scared that he chose duty over family like Coop did. Coop retorts that’s why they call it service, it’s a debt.
Cordell: I know that, but your debt wasn’t real. Every time I’ve done something it’s been for someone or something other than myself. But I stayed. And that’s the difference between me and you.
He gives Coop the flag that he kept after Coop “died” and says he has two things to tell him.
Cordell: Thank you. The man I once knew taught me a lot about how to be a man. The second is harder. I need to say goodbye to the trauma, the guilt. I need to say goodbye to you, Coop.
Coop: It’s good to see you finally get out of your head, Corporal.
He holds out his hand and Walker shakes it, and then he heads back to the police van.
Coop: I’ll see you around, Stinker.
It’s an interesting interaction. In a way, it’s like letting go of a toxic person in one’s life, acknowledging that toxicity which allows a letting go of the inappropriate guilt that the person was hanging onto. As much as Coop was a role model for young Cordell early on, his desertion and long-standing lie caused terrible damage. To Cordell, to his little brother Kevin, to his grieving mother. It was unconscionable, really. And it must have caused so many conflicted feelings for Cordell – this man he idolized and this man who turned out to be toxic and hurtful.
Anyway, it’s a good first step. I know some fans would like to see Coop again, but even if Cordell can forgive him, I’m not so sure I can! (Though sometimes that makes for compelling fictional characters!)
Meanwhile, Stella and Sadie head to a college party at Sadie’s suggestion. She introduces Stella to Witt, who apparently came to her rescue in Dallas when she tried to skip out on a restaurant bill. It’s always sus when someone runs into someone again randomly, isn’t it? Shades of Sam Winchester and Meg.
And then, to Stella’s surprise, she finds her old sort of estranged friend Bel there! Things are awkward between them after what happened with her parents’ deportation. Bel is at UCAS now and doing a podcast about immigration, studying prelaw to be an immigration attorney. I kinda love that this show doesn’t shy away from looking at the tough stuff, like Stella having a ‘unique perspective’ on immigration as a Ranger’s daughter.
Stella apologizes for everything that went down in high school and for not realizing the impact it had on Bel and her family. She confides in Bel about how uncertain she still is about going to Sauber after her gap year, and Bel challenges her about figuring out the difference between what you’re supposed to do versus wants to do.
There’s a bachelorette party too, sort of. Geri and Cassie come to the rescue for a bachelorette party for Kelly even though I don’t think they’ve ever been shown to be particularly close – but coincidentally all Kelly’s girlfriends got stuck in Florida hurricanes. This is a handy dandy coincidence but gives us some priceless moments anyway so yay.
The ladies go to a spa, where Geri is supremely uncomfortable and none of them can stay off their phones Geri thinks the plants might be giving them too much oxygen and what? You cannot have too many plants, Geri!
But I’m not gonna quibble because they leave the spa and head to the Side Step, which now features only hot and sometimes half-dressed cowboys doing all the serving and sweeping and waiting on the ladies while music that talks about “big boy” and “hot pockets” plays in the background and I was like WHA? And then OH FINE BRING IT. Like I said, this show knows its audience.
Kelly: thanks – This was unexpected but… I ain’t mad at it!
Pretty sure nobody’s mad at it, Kelly.
Cassie and Geri relish their bonding time and discuss needing more of that, which is also nice to see and means the show might pass the Bechdel test even more than it has already in the future…
This was also a great episode for Bonham and Abeline fans like me – the grown-ups have an empty house and some privacy for the first time in 20-odd years.
Abeline: Hey, could you go to your leather shop and get that blindfold you made last summer?
Bonham: Wha…. OH!
I love love love that this show lets the grandparents have sexy times too!
Bonham reminisces about the honeymoon they never got to have when they were gonna drive off in a little rented coupe and then fly to Tuscany but had to cancel it. Bonham wants to do something special for James and Kelly.
Abeline: Thank you for treating everyone like family. It’s one of your best qualities.
Bonham: Says my inspiration.
They head out, and Bonham suggests that she can tell him more about his best qualities.
Abeline: Get over yourself.
Have I mentioned I’m a Molly Hagan and Abeline stan?
As the episode nears its end, Bonham brings the blindfold to Abeline in the kitchen.
Bonham: Would you put this on for me?
Abeline: Aren’t the kids here?
Me: Y’all clearly need a better lock on your bedroom door, just sayin…
They flirt, Abeline calling him bad.
Bonham: I know I’m bad, that’s why you married me.
He leads her outside, and when she takes off the blindfold, the front yard is beautifully lit up – and there’s a sports car waiting for them. A little red convertible coupe.
Abeline: All this for James?
But it’s not.
Bonham: Run away with me, Abeline Walker. To Tuscany.
Abeline’s delighted laugh is everything, and in they go to take a little spin. I love these two so damn much.
Cordell and James have a conversation – he finally managed to finish the first part of his officiant speech, and James doesn’t even need to read it, trusting that any words of wisdom will be appreciated. They say their goodnights and it’s all so lovely, and then….
Witt and the lady Park Ranger meet in a coffee shop.
Witt: Stella’s a dreamer, she’s harmless.
Park Ranger lady: Harmless also means vulnerable. The boss will like that. And we found the perfect opportunity – it’s a nice day for a Ranger wedding…
Caps courtesy of spndeangirl
UH OH. The Walker extended family really cannot get a break, can they?
Stay tuned for what will happen in the season finale tonight – 3.18 It’s a Nice Day for a Ranger Wedding, and then look forward to Season 4! It might be a shorter season with 13 episodes, but we get a Season 4!
An aptly named “Walker” episode that picks up after the take down of Kevin Golden and the death of Julia Johnson (and Cordell being finally found innocent), a positive outcome but there’s aftermath for everyone, Cassie and Trey especially still on shaky ground.
Cordell comes home and hangs up his hat to kick it off, the family in the kitchen with coffee and bacon and things seeming more or less back to normal.
Cordell had two weeks off and some PT, and Geri is back (and Colton went to Vegas – not for an impromptu wedding but for a culinary internship – but boo, I really like Colton so I’ll miss him, never mind Stella’s feelings…)
Cordell has made some progress, able to say it was a good thing for him too that he took some time off to spend with family after his ordeal – that he needed it. Abeline thanks him for doing it, and hugs her son – and then even gruff Bonham joins in! A hug with Mom and Dad seems like just what Cordell often needs but doesn’t often get, so the fandom was just as happy as Cordi was in that moment, I think.
(So was Jared Padalecki, who live tweeted the episode along with his watching companion, daughter Odette).
Cassie knocks on Trey’s door and invites him out for a beer (and not a talk about our feelings all the time) and he says yes, which seems like a big step in the right direction for the two.
Geri returns to the Side Step – but she’s not alone, she’s got someone she wants the rest of the gang to meet. That someone is Hoyt’s daughter Sadie (surprise!), who does not exactly endear herself to Liam and Cordell by trying to scam some tickets to the free fundraiser that’s happening that night for Walker Rescues.
Awkward that Cordell finds out who she is after doing his “I’m a Texas Ranger and co-owner” thing, but who can blame him? After all the times they’ve been fooled recently, it’s entirely understandable that Cordell would be hesitant to trust Sadie, but Geri urges everyone to give her a chance.
Turns out Hoyt never knew about her, which is always so sad when it happens on TV (as it does with alarming frequency). I imagine Geri can relate, having never known who her biological parents were for most of her life. And for both her and Cordell, having Sadie around is like having a connection to Hoyt, whose death is still a major (and complicated) loss for both of them.
We get a flashback of Geri at the Sidestep back in the day when Hoyt came to find her – and Sadie’s mom is there, intending to tell him about his daughter. She sees that Geri and Hoyt are together and leaves instead, as Hoyt plans a “one big thing” that ends up getting him arrested.
It turns out that Sadie looked up Geri after her mother died, so she’s dealing with the grief of her own and wanting to know who her father was. Now that Stella has been catapulted to almost-instant adult and business owner, the show needs an influx of “kid” again, I guess, so Sadie fills that gap. Even August has grown up after he paid such a price for losing his temper, with Abeline’s stroke.
Meanwhile, James and Kelly argue about houses to move into together, and he proposes to her (for the second time – for their second wedding, that is) with a diamond that was his grandma’s (but a new setting after some sage advice from Abeline). Larry gets down on one knee even, and awwwww, she says yes.
Ben is upset when Liam pulls a protective boyfriend act when a wine deal goes south, but it turns out the guy really was scamming. That’s not the point though, Ben is understandably a bit insulted that Liam didn’t let him handle the situation when he asked him not to interject with “lawyer talk”. I wish we got to see more of Liam and Ben and their ups and downs – Matt Pascua and Keegan Allen have great chemistry, but we need to see enough of their relationship’s evolution to really be invested in it.
The wine scam is a good reason for Trey and Cassie to go undercover on their day off to bust the guy who is actually scamming, which re-establishes their bond even if they’re not super good at pretending to speak Italian. I’m not entirely sure the show isn’t starting to push these two toward a romance, but I really hope that does not happen. They are great as friends and I love their banter and their support of each other. I don’t need everything to be about romance…but I guess we’ll see. I’m just starting to get that vibe.
Trey: The thing about partners is, they have your back when you need it the most.
Trey does call Lana back and leave a message, but it’s with Cassie in his kitchen pouring a whisky for them, so… I guess we’ll see.
Ben does get his money back for the faked wine but he also wants Liam to respect him running his own business and not needing a ‘fixer’. Liam apologizes.
Liam: Side note: Did any part of you like the protective boyfriend thing, just a little bit?
Ben: Mmm, to discuss.
Abeline is so happy to see Geri, she literally squeals and it’s totally adorable. She’s also on Geri’s side immediately about Sadie. Geri reminds Cordi that he and Hoyt did much worse than sell fake tickets before the Marines and everyone pretty much gangs up on him. Even Bonham admits if he had the chance to do it over, he’d be nicer to Hoyt so he didn’t have regrets.
Cordell still feels guilty that he didn’t step in and stop Hoyt the first time he got into real trouble. Another flashback, new partners James and Cordell celebrating with young Geri and Hoyt.
Geri knows he’s about to do something that’s not a good idea and asks Cordell to try to stop him from “coloring outside the lines”. He does try, but Hoyt convinces him he shouldn’t be worried and can’t help, especially now that he’s a Ranger.
Hoyt: I don’t want to lie to you, so let’s leave it at that.
Bonham and Abeline are supportive, saying there’s a fine line between giving someone the benefit of the doubt and enabling them. And they’re right. And I love seeing them supporting their son, whose feelings and doubts seem entirely valid to me.
The Sidestep has their big fundraiser, with a big glass cowboy boot filled with donation money.
Sadie asks August about the music Hoyt liked, and he tells her he “came across” her song and the two have a little connection. Augie emphasizes that Hoyt was not actually his uncle, so they’re totally not related, lol.
Geri asks Cordell if maybe he’s being too hard on Sadie because he fears he was too soft on Hoyt – she’s perceptive like that. He tries to re-do their introduction.
Cordell: Ranger Cordell Walker
Sadie: Bastard orphan Sadie.
Cordell: Hoyt used to do that too.
Sadie gets serious, asking if Hoyt ever mentioned if he knew about her?
And Cordell actually tells her just what she desperately needs to hear, and believe.
Cordell: Hoyt wasn’t perfect, but he had a good heart. The best. If he knew about you, he’d have done everything possible to be a part of your life.
Also, Cordell in a black hat is mmm. Team black hat, all the way!
Cordell warns Sadie not to steal from a charity, definitely feeling burnt by all that happened with Hoyt – but also, as Cordell points out, that’s exactly what she was doing when he caught her.
As would happen, the band opener gets tied up and can’t get there, so Augie asks Sadie to fill in, which she does. A flashback shows her dad making the biggest mistake of his life as she sings “You’ll have to catch me first” (which the cops do in her dad’s case, alas).
Cordell notices a shady-looking guy exchanging glances with Sadie and is suspicious. But he also has to go change a keg, and when he comes back both Sadie and the boot full of money are gone. Like father, like daughter?
Cordell comes home to find Sadie with Augie – and with the boot. She did steal it but says the fun kinda went out of it. Cordell rightly notes this hasn’t actually been fun, and she admits it. He gives her the benefit of saying she did the thing in the end, and admits she stirs up a lot of emotions for all of them. He asks her what he’d asked her father many years ago – just tell me how worried I should be.
Sadie says there’s a guy she owes money to, but asks for “5 minutes with dad’s best friend” before he reverts to “hard ass Ranger”.
Cordell: I’d like that. I’d like the chance to do both.
They shake on it and damn, Mr. Padalecki, lookin’ good. Also every time I see the little crown tattoo on his wrist that he and Jensen and Jeffrey Dean Morgan got, it makes me sniffle.
Cordell and Geri bond over how complicated it is to have Hoyt’s child there, Geri sharing that she never really knew how much to wish for, with Hoyt. Walker still has regrets, recalls that Hoyt had wishes in him, perhaps more than they gave him credit for. We get another flashback, Hoyt in jail and Geri doubting if they can have a future together. Poor Hoyt, it seemed he loved her and wanted that so much, but just couldn’t keep himself from doing those impulsive things.
He drops the handmade ring on the floor as Cordell looks on.
Cordell: He wasn’t gonna get out of his own way.
Geri grieves, noting how it comes in waves, and Cordell holds her.
I’ve always loved the way this show deals with grief and loss, and this episode was no exception. I’m curious to see what Sadie adds to the ensemble, and what Geri and Cordell’s relationship will be going forward (I don’t ship it, and damn it I still miss Julia and am sad no one mentioned her, but I like Geri a lot).
Caps courtesy of jaredpadalecki.com and The CW
Only two episodes left – a new “Walker” tonight on the CW with 3.17 It Writes Itself.
Yes, I do mean that literally about “Walker,” False Flag Part 1.
Last week’s episode of “Walker” picks up right where the previous one left off, and doesn’t let up on the tension for pretty much the entire episode. Cordell wakes up to Emily’s voice, telling him to wake up and not stay cuffed to a sink.
Cordell: Honestly, cuffed to an old sink in the middle of nowhere is about how I’m feeling right now, emotionally.
So many of us can relate, Cordi.
He’s traumatized by learning that Coop was actually a deserter and a coward instead of someone he admired and thus modeled his whole life after, questioning what would have been different if he’d seen through him. Would Liam not have been tortured? Would Hoyt still be alive? Would he even be a Ranger at all?
Emily reminds him he’s not a deserter or a coward, even if his self-doubt is winning out right now. She’s the voice of reason in his head when he considers just trying to shoot his way out of the cuffs, and finds a smarter – dare I say a totally McGyver way – to do it instead. We get to see a very badass and resourceful Cordell indeed, chewing his way through a bullet to accomplish that.
Meanwhile, Trey thinks he’s fooled Kevin into believing he’s a loyal Grey Flag operative now. We learn that Kevin actually poisoned himself, which is…. Disturbing…
Kevin says he’s new to being the leader, trying to “right the ship around here”. Trey does a pretty good job of playing along, and for most of the episode, we’re not sure if it’s working or not.
Kevin says he believed in the bureaucracy at one time, then realized the whole system is flawed, designed by people plagued by self-preservation. Huh? Not willing to sacrifice, he means? I still don’t understand what Grey Flag – or Kevin – is all about.
He brings up Lana as a deserter too, saying she was afraid of what he and Trey are willing to do for the greater good.
The greater good? Is that what they’re doing? Whose good? How? I still don’t really get it.
Trey: I see now that it might cost a few lives to start a real revolution.
He asks Kevin what the mission actually is.
Kevin: Trust me, you’ll hear soon enough, and when you do… BOOM.
Well, he wasn’t lying about that.
Cassie and James want to make their move on Grey Flag right away, but the higher-ups want to “monitor the situation” for a while and not risk another Waco. Cassie is frankly sick of being right, including that the FBI isn’t right to wait. So she heads out to find Walker.
Cassie finds Coop’s cabin just after Cordell frees himself so that when she bursts in gun raised, he tackles her from behind.
Cordell: Cassie! Hey hey hey.
Cassie: Nice to see you too.
Excellent comic timing for both, and I love Cassie for using a Hawk’s Shadow reference. Fangirl!
Cordell updates her on Coop not trying to kill him, and she updates him on the Grey Flag leader being, of all people, Kevin.
Cordell confesses he isn’t sure what’s right or wrong at this point, and Cassie snaps.
Cassie: I know you’ve had a rough night, but this is really not the time to get all existential crisis-y.
Ashley Reyes truly shone in this episode.
She gets it when he says he needs to see his kids though. They’re all putting together a dinner for Bonham and Abeline when Cordi and Cassie get there, everyone excited over Stella’s new design for the Rescue and setting the table with beautiful flowers. What a contrast to what Cordell has just endured!
Ben reminds Augie to brag about having the honor of being asked to give a speech at the medal ceremony. Cordell asks if the mayor asked him…
And suddenly Kevin appears with an apron on and serves up the food in the Walker kitchen.
Cordell looks stricken.
Kevin: Actually I did.
Everyone is excited about all the help Kevin has been giving them, and they all are laughing and happy and poor Cordell is just cringing watching Kevin pat his son on the shoulder.
Kevin: You okay? Bit of a rough night?
Cassie has to do the whole “no weirdness here” routine with Kevin too, which wow, a lot of stammering and acting struggles going on here with these two, but who can blame them?
Kevin and Cordell take a walk. Kevin plans to have Augie pin the medal on his dad, and it’s chilling how nice he seems because damn, Jake Abel.
Kevin tells Cordell that Julia refused her medal, said she couldn’t make it to the ceremony.
As they walk past Cordell’s place, Kevin says Cordell has a lot to be envious of, and then off he goes, leaving Cordell upset and fuming and suspecting that Grey Flag is planning to hit the medal ceremony.
Liam asks if something’s wrong and Cordell admits that yes, something is going on that he can’t talk about.
Cordell: I just need your help, no questions asked.
He asks them all to stay away from the medal ceremony. Augie is upset about not getting to deliver his speech; Cordell asks to hear it when he gets back. They all go along, no questions asked. That’s a lot of evolution for Stella and Augie.
Stella bonds with August later in his room, telling him his speech was beautiful – but still complaining that he needs to include his kickass older sister and totally being siblings.
Before the mission kicks off, Trey tries to go out and find the journal he dropped with no success, nearly caught by both the closed-circuit cameras and another Grey Flag guy. They head out with a case full of C4 to the medal ceremony, Trey taking a quick detour to send a quick warning text – and almost getting caught again.
Hmmm….
James manages to get the text message from Trey, so they intercept the mayor and take him to the safe house along with some FBI while the rest cover the medal ceremony. Coop’s there too, looking cleaned up and determined (to do something, though we don’t know exactly what or why).
Cassie: You think we’ll get two medals if we stop the attack?
Julia calls Cordell back as he’s headed to the ceremony; she doesn’t want to talk on the phone and asks to meet, so they head to the safe house.
To Cordell’s shock (and mine), Julia accuses Cordell of actually working for Grey Flag! She’s clearly been manipulated into doubting him – apparently by the same source that has been feeding her information for a very very long time.
Kevin.
She hands the file of intel she has for Walker to him for him to look over, finding shady donations to Walker Rescues and wondering if maybe he’s being forced to cooperate with them because she clearly does not want to believe that he’s doing it willingly.
Walker tells her that Kevin is the leader of Grey Flag, and she’s astonished.
Cordell: You came here because some part of you knows that this isn’t true. I’m telling you the truth, I always have.
He’s right.
Julia laments what other lies Kevin told her over the years and also admits that she didn’t want to believe the lies about Walker.
Julia: It never felt right, what he told me about you.
They have a touching few minutes together, saying that maybe they can see where they’re at when she gets back from her assignment for six months. They get the news that the attack at the ceremony was stopped, and I get a very bad feeling.
Trey and the Grey Flag van full of mercenaries run into two police officers. Trey tries to avoid a firefight, but it ends up happening anyway and he blows his cover, in the end, to try to save the two cops.
James and Cassie show up and intercede as the guests at the medal ceremony all run out of the building screaming after hearing shots fired.
In the chaos, Kevin makes an escape out a side door, Coop watching him.
The FBI are now Cassie and James and Trey’s biggest fans.
FBI guy: Feel like I owe them two medals at this point.
Then it all goes to hell.
Trey discovers that the bag with the explosives has bullet holes in it, which should have blown it up.
Uh oh.
He opens it, finding the word ‘Traitor’ instead of explosives. Kevin was onto them the whole time.
Cordell and Julia walk out, preparing to say a temporary goodbye. For now.
Cordell: Actually…
He reaches out for her, hesitating. Just then, his phone rings, and he answers it while she waits. He asks her not to leave yet.
Cassie: The medal ceremony was a distraction. He knows Trey was undercover.
Cordell takes that in, then looks at the van in the safe house garage, wheels turning.
Cordell looks at Julia standing in the driveway. You can see him put two and two together, the terrible realization dawning in real-time, and he yells a warning, “Julia! Get down!”
It’s too late – the whole house explodes, Julia framed for a second with the fire behind her, whipping her hair up – and then they’re both blown off their feet by the force of the explosion.
Cassie screams into the phone: Walker!
And then to Captain James and Trey: I think they just hit the safe house.
Kevin escapes.
Emily: Cordi, wake up…
He comes to just like Sam Winchester did in “Supernatural’s” amazing episode All Hell Breaks Loose Part 1, the camera shot the same from above, dizzying as it spins and focuses on him as he struggles to wake up. The reference was instant for those of us who are forever Supernatural fans, and it made this episode (which was already powerful and emotional), even more so.
Cordell, bloodied and covered with dirt and debris, struggles to get up, looking around for Julia.
He crawls to her through the smoke and debris, then gently turns her over.
Cordell: Julia…
He takes her pulse, and realizes she’s gone. His face shows his anguish as he huddles over her, trying to comfort her even as he knows it’s too late.
Jared Padalecki shows every bit of that anguish, and it comes through loud and clear.
Richard Speight, Jr.’s directing is powerful here, again pulling up bit by bit to show the tragic tableau. It reminded me once again of All Hell Breaks Loose – this time the last scene, as Dean holds a lifeless Sam in his arms at the end of that episode, sobbing as the camera pulls up high in the same way.
Caps courtesy of raloria/spndeangirl
That association only made it more emotionally devastating – and for someone who really liked Julia, it already was pretty devastating for me. Jared Padalecki does an amazing job portraying grief and pain – sometimes such a good job that it’s hard for me to watch – and this scene is another example of that. You can feel his anguish.
I know a lot of people didn’t like Julia and were convinced she was sus, but I’ve loved the character from the start. She was tough and defended and sometimes bruising honest and she took no shit and wasn’t afraid of anything. She was so far from the typical ‘love interest’ that you see on most network TV, and I loved her being smart and capable and a journalist with principles. I thought she and Cordell had a ton of chemistry, and even their one very complicated grief-fueled love scene was realistic in its very imperfection. I am truly sad that she’s gone, truly.
All the kudos to Anna Enger Ritch for bringing to life such a complicated character, who kept people guessing until the very end. I, for one, was totally rooting for her.
Poor Cordell. So much damn loss. I don’t know how he’s going to get through it.
Tonight’s new episode of “Walker” is inevitably going to hurt – and I’m here for it with False Flag Part 2 3.15.
Many of the “Walker” separate threads that have been woven this season came together in this pivotal episode – some in the way I feared, and some with a twist that I didn’t see coming. In the ‘feel good’ portion of this episode, the Walker family works on building new stables for the horse rescue, taking time out for Augie to try some comedy and everyone to find out that Mawline used to be in a comedy troupe!
Is there nothing Abeline cannot do?
Bonham grouses that Cordell is too busy to come help with the stable building, but Kevin shows up to pitch in. Abeline sees through his earnest just wanna help speech to being all about retaining the mayor’s biggest donor, but Kevin is nothing if not a complex character. He really does seem to want to help, at least part of him does.
Kevin thanks Liam for saving his life when he was hit with the nerve agent, calling him a real hero – which is nice to hear because Liam doesn’t hear that often enough. Of course, Kevin wants to use that in his speech because Kevin always has an angle. We find out he’s an amateur pilot when he hammers his hand by accident, which maybe will be important at some point.
Kevin runs into Cassie at Cordell’s house, and they’re sort of adorably awkward together. I can’t help but kinda like the two of them, though I’m guessing when he says that he can promise that next time he sees her, it will be different, that means something much more ominous than mere awkwardness.
(Spoiler alert now that I’ve seen the whole episode: It does.)
August sees Kevin as a mentor, and asks Mawline to be nice to him. I hope Augie isn’t gonna get hurt in all this…
(More spoiler alert: uh oh…)
That’s the ‘feel good’ portion, such as it is. The rest of the episode is emotional, taut with suspense, and full of powerful performances.
Most of the “Walker” episode is devoted to the mystery of Cordell’s old mentor, Coop, and where the hell he’s been for two decades. Cassie and Captain James speculate – has he been hiding all these years? Was he captured and turned? Cordell and Julia have been busy too, using Walker’s knowledge of Coop’s use of aliases in the past to track his movements and money.
(We’re treated to some flashbacks with Colin Ford as young Cordell – I love that he’s become a recurring part of the show).
Neither James nor Cassie are sure that Cordell is actually going to be able to take Coop down if it comes to that.
James: Cordi, this guy was your mentor. If you do find him, are you sure you’re gonna be able to slap the cuffs on him, or worse?
Cordell is convinced that if he can talk to Coop, he can de-escalate the situation and no one else has to get hurt, but Cassie is still worried. She packs lots of weapons as they prepare to set out to track him, but Cordell sends her off to pick up files while he heads out on his own with the tracker. Uh oh, Cordi, what are you doing?
Seems like Captain James was right to worry about Cordell’s history with Coop getting in the way.
This is why you don’t go after your old mentor alone.
Coop ambushes him on the road, knocking him out when he crashes into Walker’s car, then drags an unconscious Walker out (saving him from it being on fire). Coop looks down on Cordell lying on the ground as an appropriate song plays – the music in this episode was so fitting, and this from someone who doesn’t always love how often music is used in the show.
Gonna dance with the devil and let those demons out
Let me dance with the devil, and let my demons rest
There’s a beast in me…
Cordell comes to in the woods, a bit the worse for wear, smart enough not to follow the easy trail. More great music, Jared Padalecki’s hair freed from the dreaded gel while looking a lot like Sam Fucking Winchester as he avoids all the traps and makes his way (even without his boots that Coop confiscated) to the old house where Coop is holed up.
Smart Cordell is my favorite – he pretends to leave so Coop will come out of hiding, then overwhelms him in an epic fight, cuffing him to the table.
Coop: How’d we let two decades go by and not do this? Good to see you, Cordi.
(It seems to be a thing with how Cordell greets his ‘brothers’)
Cordell is furious, not understanding how Coop could go from someone he looked up to so much to the leader of an anarchist group. Coop insists he was only trying to tap the car and not injure him, and that he wasn’t the one who abducted and tortured Cordell. He burnt his hand saving Walker, he points out, and says he’s only back for his mother’s funeral.
Walker: I used to consider you my brother.
Coop: C’mon, you know me, stinker. Do you really think I’m capable of that?
Cordell bristles at the affectionate nickname, but Coop insists he has no interest in hurting Cordi. He admits that he ran after the blast – from his job, his family, his responsibilities. He’s guilty, he says, of being a deserter and letting the people he loved think he was dead, but not of Grey Flag’s crimes.
Cordell: I’ve been blaming myself for your death, for two decades. This is like talking to a ghost.
Coop: You became the man I fell short of. Guess I did that right, got you started on the right path.
Shit, I was even believing him at that point, when he offers Cordell his gun back.
Jared Padalecki acted the hell out of that loaded (ahem) moment; you can see Cordell’s struggle, how much he wants to believe his ‘brother’, see it as a gesture of peace and trust that he’s longed for.
And then Coop knocks him out and cuffs him to the table instead. He pats Cordi and leaves his gun behind next to him though, seemingly at least a little regretful.
I was totally startled when suddenly Cordell woke up and aims it at Coop’s retreating back.
Coop: I’m not the one you’re after. It’s not your fight, Cordi. It’s something I gotta do on my own. I never wanted you to blame yourself for my death – not then, not now.
Walker lets him go.
Meanwhile, Trey and his partner Lana try to pass the tests that Grey Flag set up for them, preparing for the final one which will have C-4 in the bag. Talk about high stakes!
Lana is on to Trey, realizing he’s not who he says he is. Grey Flag recruited her by promising she and they could make “real change at a grassroots level”, which I still don’t really understand HOW they think they’re doing that. She’s staying now because people who leave and their families pay the price.
Trey trusts her rather quickly, which may not be the best idea. Hope you know what you’re doing, Trey!
Trey helps Lana escape the camp, dropping his notebook in a rush to get her out safely. She makes it to HQ and uses the code word that Trey told her to let Cassie and James know that Trey really did send her to them – and that the Grey Flag leader is headed to the camp tonight. Trey lets the bad guy who saw him help Lana bleed out so he doesn’t tell Grey Flag that Trey is the one who shot him.
As a result, Trey makes it to the Elite Squad – but as a medic whose job was to save people, that must have felt really not good. Then again, he’s been a Ranger for a while now. Seeing him take his hand off that guy’s chest and let him die really hit me though – I appreciate that this show doesn’t shy away from things like that.
All the threads start to come together in the last scene. Cassie and James arrive at the Grey Flag headquarters, and so does the mysterious leader, whose limo pulls up in the dark as they watch through binoculars.
And, of course, it’s Kevin.
Kevin to Trey: Happy you chose the right team.
Trey: Likewise.
Caps courtesy of raloria/spndeangirl
Me: Damn it, Jake Abel!
Of course, that little exchange could mean a lot of things. Or do I just not want to give up entirely on Kevin? Either way, I cannot wait for the next episode of “Walker!”
This was a really strong episode, with great performances by Jared Padalecki and David B. Meadows as men who were once brothers and still clearly have a bond, but are now torn apart, with lots of pain and anger under that bridge. Coop seems to be heading off on a suicide mission, and I don’t think Walker is ready to let him go – again. But he hurt many people very badly, including Cordell – and I’m guessing maybe Kevin too. We’ll see!
A new episode of “Walker” airs Thursday on the CW with 3.14 False Flag (Part One)!
The season finale of “The Winchesters” was called “Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye,” a nod to the fact that it’s some kind of ending even if we don’t know what kind yet or how final that ending might be.
If “The Winchesters” doesn’t get picked up by the CW, which seems unlikely as it’s not picking up many scripted shows, Chaos Machine has said they will shop it to other networks and streamers, so who knows what will happen. Showrunner Robbie Thompson, in his finale week interviews, made it clear that it was their goal and priority to deliver a solid season ending that could work if the show went forward and also work if it did not – which is no easy task, I’m guessing!
The “Supernatural” fandom has a lot of big feelings about endings.
I know I do, and most of my fellow fans and fandom friends do too. I loved the series finale of “Supernatural” and feel protective of it when misinformation about it gets passed around. So, I’m sure that plenty of people will feel protective of the ending of this show as well. I’m sure too that, like OG “Supernatural,” emotions around this finale will be mixed.
Some of my closest friends didn’t love the “Supernatural” series finale because they had a very hard time with Dean dying, and for some of those people somehow this episode of “The Winchesters” felt healing. I confess I don’t entirely understand why, since Dean was just as “alive” at the end of “Supernatural” as he was at the end of this episode, which is to say not alive at all but very much existing, as Jensen Ackles said to me long ago, on another plane of existence. This episode didn’t change that; Dean was happy and at peace at the end of “Supernatural,” and he was more or less the same at the end of “The Winchesters.”
In fact, one could argue he had more peace at the end of “Supernatural” than at the end of “The Winchesters,” after finding out about Chuck’s fail-safe plan instead of believing that he and Sam had defeated Chuck, end of story. But if some people felt they needed healing and they got it from this show, I am all for it! Most of us are very motivated to get back to some kind of equilibrium when it involves something we care deeply about, and if you can figure out a way to do it, go for it.
For fans who ultimately found “Supernatural” as Kripke created it too dark, “The Winchesters” may have felt healing in that sense too. It was a 2023 show, with a more diverse cast of characters and hunters who aren’t averse to therapy or meditation to try to cope with their anger issues and trauma instead of enacting them and periodically taking them out on other people unintentionally. In a sense, Robbie Thompson wrote a sort of fix-it fic for those aspects of “Supernatural,” with an ending that parallels 15.19 instead of 15.20, with John and Mary driving off into a hopeful new life, as Sam and Dean did at the end of 15.19. I didn’t need a fix-it fic; for me, ‘Carry On’ was the ending that made sense and felt right for a show that was a 42-minute horror show, dark and disturbing and sometimes hard to watch but ultimately incredibly inspiring.
Its heroes were flawed and nuanced and not black and white, ever. I felt – feel – incredibly grateful that we got the bridge scene after the barn, a far more happy ending than I ever thought we’d get on Supernatural.
But I can see why people who didn’t feel that way about the finale could have found “The Winchesters” healing, like the best fix-it fics are undeniably healing. Again, if it feels that way to you, please revel in it and feel better. Fandom itself will certainly be the better for any healing that brings.
For me, I felt a mix of things as I was watching, and still do now after taking a week to let it all digest. I was entertained for sure – I’ve said in my last few reviews that the show seemed to be finding its feet in terms of its look and timing – and I felt relieved that my tentative theories about what was going on were mostly correct. (I’m protective of “Supernatural” canon, so while I trusted Robbie and the EPs to be protective also as promised, I still felt a sense of relief that this was indeed an Alternate Universe John and Mary who we were getting to know this whole time, which made the inconsistencies nothing to do with canon and everything to do with this not being OUR John and Mary.)
I’m still a bit confused about the progression from the pilot to the finale, since it started out sounding like Dean was trying to figure out his own parents’ past (not another world’s John and Mary) and that their epic love would save the world – it turns out that Baby sort of saved the world (again) with some help from all the characters plus one Dean Winchester.
Most of us pretty much knew that Dean Winchester would make an actual appearance in this episode. Anyone who has ever met me knows that I love Dean Winchester like I love breathing. I can’t wait to have him and more “Supernatural” back on my some-kind-of screen again and more of the adventures of Sam and Dean. We didn’t get alot of Dean in “The Winchesters,” though intended or not, Dean’s appearance was a big part of why many people tuned in – but we got more in the season finale than in any other episode. I think because I was satisfied with how “Supernatural” turned out, I didn’t have a burning need to see Dean in this show, and thus his appearance in the pilot didn’t feel like relief, it just felt like having an old friend back for a bit.
Without Sam, it also didn’t feel like an episode of Supernatural, so the pilot gave me a confusing Dean, the story left intentionally murky about what he was up to and why.
The rest of the season gave us Dean Winchester bits of narration as he (we now know) added to the hunting journal that I don’t think we ever saw him keep on “Supernatural” but he apparently did – it seems a bit more like a Sam thing to do, but hopefully this AU John and Mary benefitted from it. I still have questions, but by the end of this episode it did feel like Dean Winchester himself was on my TV screen, albeit not in an episode of “Supernatural.” That was the intention for this show, to stand on its own two feet and introduce a new cast of characters that would hopefully intrigue fans enough to keep going – and Robbie has said that if that happens, it won’t be the Dean show, but the newly minted hunters in this AU world who will ‘carry on’.
The show’s future is still up in the air, but I think the show succeeded in creating some memorable characters in this world’s Mary and John and Carlos and Lata (and Millie and Ada too). It doesn’t hurt that the cast is absolutely lovely – it was a pleasure meeting many of them at New York Comic Con for interviews and at a recent convention.
So, what actually happened in this episode? A LOT. Phew. We start off earlier in 1972, as John buries his friends after serving in the war, traumatized and unsure where he belongs or what he wants to do.
He sits down in a bus station, looking lost, and a mysterious man approaches and gives him an envelope – who John calls “Sir” because he’s clearly older than John himself.
Me: Jensen Ackles?!
I still can’t rewatch the episode and see that as Dean Winchester, it looks too much like Jensen. (I’m not quibbling, because the reason he needed the long hair and beard is, I’m guessing, to return to playing a character that I’m really freaking excited about! And yes, it’s Heaven, he’s dead, he probably can look however he wants, so there’s no canon issue, but I still can’t see that person as Dean Winchester of “Supernatural” no matter how hard I try).
But I’m okay with it, and the merchant marine lighthouse keeper Ernest Hemingway Robert Redford look, unsurprisingly, totally works for him.
Anyway.
He gives John the letter from his father and disappears; we see him looking down on a confused John from the balcony.
The plan worked, as John buys a ticket back to Lawrence, Kansas. And then the show pulls off a well-kept secret as we pan out and see none other than Bobby Singer standing next to Dean-who-does-not-look-like-Dean.
Bobby: We’re not supposed to meddle with things, ya idjit!
Me: Bobby!!!!!
I love surprises and it’s so rare that a show pulls one off – this episode pulled off not one but two! Bobby (the amazing and wonderful Jim Beaver) being there made “The Winchesters” feel closer to “Supernatural” than it has all season, which is a good thing in my book. It tied this show to the finale, since we last saw Dean with Bobby before the final scene on the bridge.
Dean insists he wasn’t meddling (much), that the letter was intended for John and he just “gave it a nudge”. Bobby, disgruntled, sets off to “get the damn cavalry”.
Bobby: One last hunt, huh?
Dean: One last hunt.
Back to the here and now, Mary tells Samuel she’s not sure about going to college – in fact, she’s not sure what’s next for her at all.
Meanwhile, Samuel has a lead on the guy the Akrida are afraid of (ie, Dean) from a hunter named Joan.
Carlos, as often is the case, tells it like it is as they look at the photo once again.
Carlos: Well, this guy is ruggedly handsome.
True that.
He’s also “not of this Earth”, which is why he can apparently destroy the Akrida Queen – what a design flaw that anything that isn’t of this Earth can kill her! Poor planning, Chuck.
Ada finally tells the rest of them that the crystal will only work if she adds a fragment of her human soul, which Lata points out will then cause the rest to fade away. So, maybe they should avoid that unless absolutely necessary, Carlos wisely suggests. Smart, Carlos.
Also, Ada, don’t you want to say goodbye to your son before you power that up??
Lata is determined to find a spell that will fix that pesky little soul-fading problem, which of course she will.
Samuel, John and Mary meet with Joan Hopkins, who it turns out is a former hunter. (Radio Company’s “Keep On Ramblin’” plays in the background – nice touch, EP Mr. Ackles).
She’s pissed that Dean has been messing around in their world but assures them that he won’t be a problem anymore since she sent him through the portal – along with his car. Oh no, not Baby! A human would be torn to shreds, she says. For centuries. Ouch.
His “old journal” is all that’s left of him apparently, says Joan aka the Akrida Queen. For some unknown reason, she decides she wants to “level the playing field” instead of just taking them out like would make a lot of sense, falling prey to the dreaded villain exposition curse as she tells them who she is and how she came to be the Queen. John is me.
John: We came here for a fight so maybe we could skip the monologuing.
A+ for that line!
Anyway, a) she’s not Akrida, b) she’s a former hunter, c) she’s out of her mind. She doesn’t say that last part but it’s what we infer.
Joan: I don’t want one more hunter to needlessly die. Join me – or die.
I guess she means join me as the host for an Akrida, which seems like a very bad option. Also, she’s infiltrated the clubhouse where Lata is. Lata breaks her pacifist streak in a big way to try to fight her off, but to no avail.
We get the rest of Joan Hopkins’ story from the lore – that as part of a family of hunters in the 1600s she lost her parents, her brother, all her family, and then her William. So, she decided that the monsters that were never going to be gone weren’t the problem, mankind was.
They always needed to be saved, so hunters kept needing to hunt and humans were ungrateful, destroying the planet and each other. (Not entirely wrong there). According to the lore, Joan apparently decided that she needed to wipe out everyone who might need saving, aka all humans, so hunters wouldn’t have anyone to save and then….could live? Which seems like a pretty bizarre way to save hunters who are, after all, humans.
She was banished from this world, but now she’s back. Lata gets possessed, and the Queen burns the Men of Letters wards that kept the portal from opening. The rest of the gang turns up to save Lata, who (in her possessed Akrida state) gives some more exposition – explanation – for who the Akrida are. Apparently, they are an angry god’s “fail safe” – if anything ever bested him (presumably the way Sam and Dean bested Chuck), then they’d wipe out all life in every universe. But Joan as their queen gave them meaning, she says. I guess everyone needs meaning, even weird little alien bugs.
Before Akrida Lata can kill the actual Lata, Ada says the magic word and uses part of her soul to activate the crystal to save her.
The gang decides to reverse the polarity of the Ostium using the mystery man’s journal as directions to bring him back through the portal, and if you got all that on first watch, phew. That can only happen at midnight, so the gang needs to keep the Akrida and Queen busy until they can bring back Mystery Man through the portal – by tossing in the journal.
John volunteers to stall them so Mary can lead the Mystery Man into battle, insisting that he’s not running toward danger again, but towards hope for the first time.
John: If we do this, if we save the world, we’re free.
And she’s free to do whatever she wants – Joan’s original dream of freeing up hunters from having to save people also weirdly coming true.
John, Samuel and Carlos stand up to Joan, who for some reason initially is all alone. Her “Hello, boys” was a nice touch, but she’s no Crowley – or Rowena.
John gets to say “Hunters don’t kneel” before Joan adds a few more Akrida and then they all have a sword fight. I still don’t know why the Akrida don’t fight in their scary bug forms instead or why they’re using swords for that matter.
The journal goes in the Ostium and sure enough, back through the portal comes – Baby! With the original license plate, but without the Mystery Man, who they say must be dead. However, the car is not of this earth either, so it will make a good weapon to take out the Queen.
Mary jumps in and peels out – fun fact, Meg Donnelly got her license just to be able to drive Baby! (And confessed she almost peed her pants three times doing it)
The Queen also lets John know that she wiped out the Men of Letters, including Henry, taunting him.
The Doors “LA Woman” starts to play as Mary drives Baby through the night, over a bridge. Past an astonished Carlos.
She drives Baby right into the still-fighting-with-John Queen, which is an awesome music cue for that sequence NGL. Baby, Mary and the Queen are knocked right into the open portal.
They disappear, and the formerly possessed people walk away, confused. John falls to his knees ala Dean when Sam fell down the hole. Samuel looks crushed.
Then the portal reopens and Baby comes crashing through, engine revving. They all rush up to the car.
The door opens – and it’s Dean Winchester who gets out.
He helps Mary out the passenger side; she collapses into John’s arms.
John asks how they’re okay and Dean says that Baby kept Mary safe.
Dean: Me too. Course there’s not much that can tear me apart. I’m already dead.
He was stuck in the world between worlds – the limbo reference I speculated about last episode – and hopped in when he saw Baby come back through. Dean tells them he’s a hunter, but not from this Earth, as Americana starts to play (though I’m not sure how I feel about it playing for a family that’s not “our” Winchesters). Dean says he made it to Heaven when he died, found Baby waiting for him, and went for a drive – but then took a little detour.
Lata: Through the multiverse.
Carlos asks what he was looking for.
Dean: That’s a good question, Carlos.
(A shout out to a Robbie Thompson episode of “Supernatural” that referred to a hunter named Carlos who Sam was talking to on the phone).
He says he was looking for his family – for an Earth that had a version of his family where they had a shot at a happy ending. Then he found out about the Akrida.
Dean: Eventually the Akrida were gonna make their way to my world and I got family there, so I couldn’t let that happen…. Now that the Akrida are gone, you can choose your own destiny. Write your own story.
And then we get another surprise – Bobby comes back with Jack! It was a total surprise to see Alex Calvert reprise his role, and a really nice one.
Jack: Hi.
Bobby speaks a bit of the weirdness we’ve all been dealing with: seeing Samuel with a full head of hair.
Jack: When I restored things, I wanted mankind to make their own fate. That meant no interference from on high, no exceptions.
And then Dean convinced me, finally, that he really was our Dean.
Dean: I couldn’t let our world be destroyed – Sam’s still down there, okay? He deserves a good, long life. Hell, they all do. So, if you wanna cast me out of Heaven, so be it.
That’s the Dean Winchester I know and love! And I love his resolve and willingness to do whatever it takes (even though we all know that Sam did, in fact, live to be an old man, so clearly Dean succeeded in this mission).
Bobby votes for another chance.
Jack: There’s always another case with you hunters, even in death.
He gives Dean the journal to give to John and Mary.
Jack: After this, it’s time to get around to the ‘there’ll be peace when you are done’ part of the song.
For now, it seems, Dean will listen.
Dean: My dad, he kept a hunter’s journal, looked just like this. This is my hunter’s journal. If you’re gonna stay in this game, it will help guide you through.
The son gives it to the father (sorta).
Dean asks Mary to do him a favor, keep an eye out for a yellow eyed demon – and gives her the Colt in case she runs into him. (I guess Jack restored that too? It was melted last we saw it)
Mary asks if there was a version of Dean’s family that had a shot at a happy ending, and he says yes.
John: You never told us your name.
Dean: Hetfield. James Hetfield.
Metallica had to get in there too.
Nick Drake’s “One of These Things First” plays as Dean, Bobby and Jack disappear and the rest of the gang head home.
Lata manages to restore Ada’s soul with a magic plant.
Samuel hugs his daughter goodbye and hits the road.
Mary plans to hit the road too, to find out who she’s gonna be. John says he found where he belongs, being a hunter, but can’t be the best version of that without facing the anger he has inside him, by therapy or some other means.
John: Do me a favor? No goodbyes.
Mary comes by the next morning.
Mary: I don’t know where I’m going or what I’m doing…but maybe there’s something out there for the both of us and we can figure it out together during the day and you can hunt at night?
It’s a little like Dean coming to get Sam at Stanford and the two of them hitting the road, except this time they plan to combine maybe-college and maybe-hunting a little more seamlessly.
And off they go, driving down the road, in Mary’s blue car instead of Baby, but with the right “Supernatural” music playing – reminiscent again of Sam and Dean in 15.19.
Mary: I was reading Hetfield’s journal and he was very specific on this issue. Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole.
Led Zeppelin’s ‘Ramble On’ ushers the Winchesters out, a montage of their meeting and falling in love playing as they drive. That was a financial sacrifice for sure, but I’m guessing it felt special to Jensen to finally have Zeppelin in this universe, as it should be.
Caps courtesy of spndeangirl/raloria
So, “The Winchesters” succeeds at creating a separate story and not messing with “Supernatural” canon in a significant way. At some point in his time-altered drive in Baby, Dean decided he wanted to see if there were any Winchester families out there who didn’t have to live the kind of life that his did (presumably because time wasn’t quite altered enough for him not to get bored waiting for Sam).
Baby came with him somehow because – magic? – and then, to his surprise, Dean discovered that Chuck had left the Akrida as a fail-safe. Which meant Dean’s world – and Sam – were threatened. Cue Dean breaking any promise not to meddle because SAM! (And everyone else).
I guess Jack took his anti-interference directive really seriously and was going to let the Akrida do what they were created to do. Sheesh, Jack!
“The Winchesters,” while it takes place decades before “Supernatural,” was not truly a prequel – not for the world of “Supernatural” that we know, anyway. For Dean, it’s in the midst of the timeline of the series finale, with him in Heaven and Sam still alive on Earth, so it’s really an interlude during 15.20.
I’ve thought many times that a reboot of “Supernatural” could take place during that same time period, or even as a true sequel post-Sam and Dean’s reunion on the bridge if Sam and Dean had to jump back into action. “The Winchesters” can be a set up and kickoff for either of those options, as EP Jensen Ackles has said. Theoretically, a reboot of “Supernatural” could also run parallel to the continuation of “The Winchesters” – assuming viewers decide they’re now invested enough in this universe’s story. It will diverge from Supernatural’s story and won’t involve Dean Winchester, presumably, but John and Mary and Carlos and Lata still have their own story to tell. It remains to be seen whether viewers are invested enough to want to follow along.
Whether it continues or not, I’m still waiting (and hoping and praying) for Sam and Dean to put their boots back on. Fingers crossed!
I just typed out that “Walker” episode title and thought, “laid?” Is that a naughty dad joke? In any case, it has a lot of different meanings, as the episode titles in this show often do.
Trey Undercover
Cassie and Walker find out that Trey is in fact still a Ranger – and currently making inroads undercover trying to figure out what Grey Flag is up to (and why that’s all about Walker). The dead guy in the van, in fact, was Trey’s in. Not any more!
The Feds are now involved, providing a secret house for the teams HQ and also ordering James not to let Cordell and Cassie in on what’s happening.
The foursome is a team again!
Though I like that Cassie is pissed that they were kept in the dark and also protective of Trey, and it takes her a while to come around. That was realistic – too often in TV people come around way too quickly and easily without struggling like most humans would.
They all realize by now that it’s a personal vendetta against Walker.
Cordell (waves adorably): Yeah me, I’m the last one on their hit list!
They intercept the text with the instructions for Trey’s first mission and figure out the cryptic message. Walker gives Trey the advice of not getting attached to anyone and a warning about how a sad story can pull you in when you’re undercover – which clearly comes from experience. I kinda love that Cordell is an emotional man, and that he struggles with that sometimes, but it’s part of who he is.
Trey stands watch as a lookout for his Grey Flag ‘initiation’ of sorts, while James and Cassie keep watch on him. Things go south when the woman he’s standing guard for staggers out badly wounded. Grey Flag wants the briefcase and orders him not to waste time on poor Lana, but of course, Trey can’t do that.
Cassie pretends to be a bystander and covertly slips Trey some gauze to save her life (waiting for the okay from James on her out-of-the-box impulse though). Another guy shows up and grazes Cassie with a bullet, but Lana survives thanks to Trey’s combat medic skills – and he passes the test.
586
The rogue shooter is a black market C4 seller, which is probably what’s in the briefcase Lana risked her life for. In other words, the plot thickens. (I still don’t really understand what Grey Flag is and what they’re trying to do tbh).
Trey eventually realizes that he’s too attached to the rest of the team and needs to do the undercover job alone, and James reluctantly agrees.
Walker Rescues is a Family Affair
Liam and Stella squabble a little about whether the Walker Rescue is about helping people or helping horses. Bonham wants to be more hands-on involved now that he’s a part of this, and Abeline eventually joins up too as they start focusing on fundraising.
Augie: I think it would be cool if you threw a photo booth for horses, with props like big mustaches to put on the horses.
Liam: Why would you put a mustache on a horse?
Fandom: Immediately posts lots of pictures of horses with mustaches.
Kevin is conveniently throwing a fundraiser at the Side Step and chats with Augie, who validates him when he tries to dismiss the break up with Cassie as not really a break up because they never really started.
August: A relationship is a relationship if it was real to you.
August asks Kevin if he can invite Stella and Liam to the fundraiser and Kevin agrees, saying he’s happy to make introductions. Kevin is another character who is probably sus but who I like anyway and am going to be sad if he turns out to be Coop’s son out for some kind of long con revenge. Sigh.
The fundraiser is a success for Walker Rescues, especially because it’s multi-generational, which makes them appreciate Bonham and Abeline’s participation even more.
And it is now truly a family affair!
Kevin helps out with getting the Horse Rescue connected even though August is worried that his dad won’t be happy – Kevin says he doesn’t need to know, and offers to help out August with his people skills too. Hmmm. I know, sus, but again…. I like Jake Abel and Kevin is a nuanced character who’s pretty fascinating.
Cordell and Julia Trauma Bond, Emotionally and Physically!
Julia brings Cordell a sandwich when she comes over, which is both awkward and somehow adorable (I can’t help it, I like Julia – she’s a fascinating character and so well played, so much nuance – and I can’t tell for sure if she’s sus or just a reporter who does whatever she thinks is right and screw everyone else. I like her awkwardness and her bluntness and her perceptiveness.
She also brings a flash drive with files from the past on Cordell’s old unit. How did she get it, he wonders? (I know, I know, sus…)
Julia: Journalism is like punk rock. No rules, all justice.
Cordell isn’t exactly looking forward to revisiting his past, especially Coop’s death, which really did a number on him. Julia reminds him that he was just a 20-something kid, but Cordell is still pretty traumatized about it.
Cordell: I’m not sure why I’m telling you all this.
Julia: I’ve been told I’m a good listener.
Cordell tells her that he’s choosing to trust her, to believe that she’s also trying to take Grey Flag down, and she says she does want to help, because justice.
She holds his hand reassuringly, taps out a message in Morse Code like when they met.
Fandom: Hmmmm. Sus.
It might be, I won’t be surprised, but I’ll be a little sad to be honest.
Julia and Cordell go find the hidden flash drive under a park bench in the woods.
The framing of that shot, and the way they hold each other’s gaze….I was already thinking hmmmm…
She suggests it might do Cordell good to go talk to Mrs. Cooper, but he’s reluctant, still emotional about it. Julia looks up the woman’s ‘socials’ to see what she likes, and finds out she died last week. (At 92 I’m impressed she had ‘socials’!) Poor Cordell, knowing now he can never make it right, becomes even more emotional. Julia sees it and empathizes.
She asks him, what would he say to Coop’s mother if she was here right now?
Cordell admits that even when he went to her house, he couldn’t bring himself to speak to her. He saw the photo and froze.
Julia: If you had a chance, what would you say?
Cordell opens up to her. He says he’d tell her about Coop’s flag and why he kept it all these years, how his unit would take it on missions to keep Coop’s memory alive, even getting it burnt a little on a mission. (The ‘Grey Flag’ parallels are getting pretty obvious here). That when he got back, he ‘put it away’, and couldn’t deal with it.
Julia gets it, having been through trauma of her own.
Julia: I’ve put away a lot of things…but keeping them to remember, to relive. It’s one way to cope, I guess.
Cordell: It was wrong and selfish of me. It should have gone to his next of kin. I lost a friend, a mentor, but Ms. Cooper lost a son.
Julia holds his hand as he gets emotional.
Julia: There’s closure we get ourselves and there’s closure we give ourselves. Sometimes that’s gotta be good enough.
His eyes water and she leans down and kisses their joined hands, and you can see how affected Cordell is by that simple gesture of comfort and affection. He needs it so badly and there hasn’t really been anyone to give him that in a long time.
Jared Padalecki is brilliant in these quiet scenes, letting all of Cordell’s emotions show on his handsome face. Anna Enger Ritch is the perfect scene partner, bringing an openness to Julia that gets through to Cordell – not to mention me. If we find out this was all an act, then Julia Johnson should get all the Oscars (and one to Anna too).
I found myself tearing up right along with Cordell. After a poignant moment where they both know where they’re headed but hesitate, Cordell leans in. They both surge up, making out on the couch before we quickly fade to not-black. (Way too quickly, Cordell still has not one but two shirts on!)
Is she talking about the closure she’s trying to get for herself, maybe as Coop’s child, by seducing him and leading him to finding out the truth? Or is she giving him a message that’s healthy and important, wanting to help him?
We don’t know yet, but I love that I’m intrigued. I also love that Walker brings Julia a big glass of water after as they kind of awkwardly get dressed. I’m sure that was quite a workout!
Cordell: You okay?
Julia: Yeah. I mean in the grand scheme of things, we’re probably not okay as people, but you and I, just now? Yeah, we’re good.
Cordell follows Captain’s orders and waits to view the decrypted files. Julia takes the flash drive with her, Cordell raising an eyebrow and asking if she’s planning an expose. Julia says she wouldn’t jeopardize his case, but maybe someday. Sus, I know, but damn, Julia and Cordell have SO much chemistry, I can’t help it!
Walker thanks her for “listening to my sad truths” as she leaves and damn but Padalecki looks good with the hair gel gone and all those glorious flippies flying free and a little mussed.
Julia: I bet there are other people in your life who want to hear your sad truths all the same.
She says such empathic things, the right things, things that really help Cordell…it’s hard for me to believe this is all an act. If it is, Julia is either an amazing actor or she got genuinely caught up in feeling something for Cordell thanks to their shared trauma.
They don’t kiss goodbye, she’s as matter of fact as he is, and that all seems like it makes sense. They’re two people who are damaged and drawn to each other because they know the other person gets it, and that’s it. That’s powerful, but that’s it. I love when this show gets it right! I am a sucker for the two-damaged-people-bonded-by-trauma trope, seriously.
Julia gets through to Cordell too. He opens up to Cassie and tells her the truth about the day he went to visit Coop’s mother, and what really happened.
Cassie: Why did you feel like you couldn’t tell me that?
Cordell: I was ashamed… I am ashamed.
He tells her what happened, that Coop gave an order that separated him from the rest of them and Walker went along even though he didn’t agree with it. After holding off enemy fire, there was an explosion, and Coop was killed.
In a conversation eerily similar to one in last week’s The Winchesters, Cordell apologizes for keeping secrets from Cassie, and she gets it, reassuring. Ashley Reyes and Jared Padalecki are so good in this scene, his shame and guilt painful to see and her empathy coming through loud and clear.
Cassie: This is something you had to deal with, in your own way, in your own time.
It’s true. Trauma changes us, changes our brains. It’s long-lasting and complicated, and everyone heals differently on their own timetable.
The Big Reveal
Cassie reviews the decrypted files, finding 2004 drone footage of the night Coop died. We can see Coop go off in one direction while the rest of the Unit runs the other way, and then the flash of the explosion. Cordell flinches when it goes off, something that Padaleck is so good at, those little nonverbal tells that make it clear when someone is dealing with trauma.
Once the smoke clears, a figure is seen running away, and Cassie asks, is it possible that Coop survived?
Cordell is traumatized all over again.
Cordell: No way. There’s no way.
But he already knows it’s not true, you can see it in the look on his face, his shock as everything he’s believed and that has shaped his life in so many ways is called into question.
Trey arrives at the Compound, men in bulletproof vests shooting guns and a tattered flag flying over the camp. A tattered flag, with burnt edges. OH.
A man who looks just like an older Coop gets out of a truck, scars on his face, as music plays with the lyrics, “Ain’t no bible on my bed”.
Uh oh.
Caps courtesy of raloria/spndeangirl
I am really looking forward to this week’s episode – so curious what is really going on with both Julia and Kevin! All the props to Jake Abel and Anna Enger Ritch for making those characters so fascinating (and to the writers for keeping us guessing)
There’s a new episode of “Walker” this week on the CW with 3.13 The Deserters!
Last week’s episode of “The Winchesters” starts right off with the Dean Winchester narration.
Dean: Being a hunter means always being on the move. And no matter how hard you plan, no matter how hard you work, at a certain point we all run out of road. It’s what we do at those crossroads that define us.
The crossroads certainly defined Sam and Dean’s lives in multiple ways – literally, and at those points where a hard decision had to made, one that would impact other people too (or maybe even the whole world). Is Dean facing one of those decisions again?
Back to the story…
John shows up at the club house covered in blood, Mary asking in shock where he’s hurt. John echoes his eventual son (or is that really Sam echoing his dad….never mind…brain hurts…) in Born Under A Bad Sign, one of my favorite episodes.
John: It’s not my blood.
At least he doesn’t turn out to be possessed by a demon!
He is pretty traumatized by what happened to Kyle though, and feels extra guilty because he was a friend/one-time-date of Mary’s. Millie, of course, much like her eventual grandson Dean, believes her son no questions asked and helps him escape.
In a common horror trope (because it’s endlessly terrifying, playing on our very human need to be able to predict when there’s danger around us), there’s no way to know who the Akrida are controlling – which Lata suddenly remembers could be rectified by Maggie’s magic bracelet that can pinpoint anyone harboring a dark secret or “being a monster”! Why Lata didn’t think of this before and why Maggie kept it hidden is a mystery.
I mean, that could be handy, right? Carlos and Lata head off to search Maggie’s room for it, with a reminder to John from his meditation guru (aka Lata) not to forget to do his breathing exercises.
Lata later: He hasn’t meditated in weeks.
Fandom (and echoed by Drake Rodger on twitter): Most terrifying thing about this episode: John hasn’t meditated in weeks omg!
Mary to John (just as all Winchesters say when they’re in serious trouble): Hey, we’re gonna figure this out.
Lata and Carlos find some old photos of Maggie and Lata on their way to see Alice Cooper (I would have picked Bowie or Mott the Hoople or Lou Reed, but to each their own). And within a minute that photo and the resulting conversation quickly clues Lata in on where to find the bracelet. I really wish these kids had to struggle a bit more!
It’s in a box of Toastettes that’s Maggie’s private stash (in the rat poison box which seems like a terrible idea – hopefully she washed the box really really well!) I would say they must be super stale by now when Carlos eats one, but if they’re anything like Poptarts, they apparently last forever).
The bracelet is supposed to uncover your enemies’ hidden secrets, but unfortunately it immediately clasps itself around Lata – and some totally scary shadow monster locks them into the house and blows out all the lights. I do like that the show is learning how to be scary with the less is more rule.
They find out from the lore books (that are locked in there with them luckily) that if someone wears the bracelet who is harboring a dark secret of their own, the bracelet will force them to reveal it – or the shadows will consume them.
Oops.
Carlos (incredulous): You have a dark secret? What, like overdue library books?
Carlos gets locked in a freezing cold room while a vision of Maggie confronts Lata and tells her that Maggie was hurt that Lata kept secrets from her, encouraging her to tell them now to save herself and Carlos. Lata confesses that the room he’s locked in was a part of her childhood home.
This show has a million ways to force its characters to spill the truth about their pasts – it’s Lata’s turn this week.
Carlos begs her to spill before they turn into popsicles, but she’s reluctant – which is hard to understand because they are literally going to freeze to death. But she does spill, the story of her housekeeper Sania who practically raised her.
Young Lata took some leftovers from a party and shared the tray with Sania in her quarters (where they’re currently locked up). Her father blamed Sania for stealing food and wouldn’t listen that it wasn’t her doing, and when he raised his hand to strike Sania, Lata hit him with the lamp currently in front of them.
Both Nida Khurshid and JoJo Fleites did an amazing job with this story line – they don’t get a ton of serious scenes, but they can pull them off really well when they do. Carlos assures her she didn’t do anything wrong, which honestly? She really didn’t! It seems like her father was the one with a dark secret, not Lata, even when she tells the rest. When her father told her mother what had happened, her mother didn’t take Lata’s side like one would hope she would have.
Instead, she said she was ashamed of Lata, that she shouldn’t have defended Sania instead of her family. It’s such a familiar story unfortunately and so traumatizing for young children, when even the “good” parent won’t protect you and takes the other parent’s side. Heartbreaking. The psychologist in me was nodding sadly.
Lata ran away that night – and her father locked Sania in her room on the coldest night of the year to pay the price, blaming her for making Lata disobedient. She froze to death in the room that night – the very room that Carlos and Lata are locked in now.
Nida Khurshid’s sobbing is entirely believable as she cries “I’m so sorry, Sania”, the guilt and sorrow held in for a very long time, and Carlos holds her.
Millie can’t reach them on the phone (hah, only a landline, I remember those frustrating days!) so she goes to check on them, finding them just after they’re released from the bracelet’s nightmare. It clicks off Lata, releasing her.
Carlos: I guess the truth really does set you free.
Lata: In more ways than one.
Meanwhile, Betty finds John and Mary before they can leave town because of course she knows where to look. She insists she’s trying to help and it’s a lucky thing that she’s the one who found them, and John goes with her without a fight.
I was surprised that Mary didn’t try to free John right then – she could probably have easily subdued Betty just enough for them to get away, right? They were already wanted by the cops anyway. That didn’t make sense to me at all.
Millie and Mary agree that Betty actually does care about John; Millie thinks maybe they can trust her and tell her the truth, then they’ll have a cop on the inside too, which seems like a good plan. They invite Betty to the club house and show her their “horror movie prop collection”, but Betty wants to blame Mary for all the “off” things that have been happening. (Understandable since one of those off things is also John breaking up with Betty – she’s only human, she has to have some feelings about that!)
Betty gets the ‘monsters are real’ talk, including the Akrida taking over Kyle and some cops. Betty has a tough time believing this, understandably. She leaves, concerned that John is being transferred that night – apparently, the Akrida can subvert all that pesky legal stuff I guess? Mary asks her to check Kyle’s neck for the telltale three marks, but Betty walks out.
John gets questioned by the cops, who are possessed by the Akrida of course. Drake Rodger does a great job not letting the cop get to him, jumping to his feet only when the Akrida reveals itself and taunts him. He’s very much the badass John Winchester we know and (sometimes) love in this scene, and reminiscent of his son Dean too. The cop slaps down the photo of that future son and demands to know who it is.
John: I have no idea who that is.
We find out in this episode that John was also a POW – how long was he gone??
Akrida cop: I’m gonna leave you to sit in your sad little thoughts and feelings.
Mary regrets her life choices to not try to rescue John when they only had Betty to deal with (me: that’s what I said, Mary!), and heads to the police station, determined to break John out before the transfer. Really, why didn’t she just knock out Betty and run off with John earlier, which would have been so much easier than breaking him out of prison!
John is still playing the annoyed but grudgingly admiring Akrida cop.
John: I’ll tell you everything. The guy in the photo is Jeff Beck. That’s one of his aliases, he also goes by Eric Bloom, and lately by Levon Helm…
The cop punches him.
Very Dean Winchester, John. I guess that’s where the boys got the idea!
He taunts the Akrida right back, saying that he played his hand – that clearly that guy is a threat to them.
John: Roxy said nothing of this Earth can harm you, so if he’s a threat to you, well, that would mean he’s not of this Earth. Which explains why you look like a scared little baby.
Me: Ahhhhhhhh my AU theory is hopefully right!!!
(Though I guess that could also mean he’s not of this Earth because he’s in Heaven…)
Of course, that also means John isn’t of any use to them anymore, so the prison transport is about to get into a fatal car crash. As he’s being taken out, however, John is still sassy.
John: Whoever that guy is? I hope he gives you hell.
The entire fandom: OH HE WILL!
John manages a final head butt before they drag him out, again very Dean Winchester.
Betty tries to intercept Mary’s mission to save John, Mary throws a punch and sets off a fight.
Turns out Mary was just trying to distract her long enough for…
Carlos (popping up out of nowhere to snap the bracelet on Betty): Drugs should be legalized.
Me: lol
They tell Betty they need her help, that she needs to take a look around now that she can see monsters. It apparently works, though in an odd way since I’m not entirely sure what Betty sees or why she believes that instantly this time.
Or how Mary knew that Betty was going to be “pure of heart” enough to not get stuck in a flashback – they could have conceivably been putting her in a lot of danger. Betty apparently doesn’t have any dark secrets luckily.
They confront Akrida cop as they try to toss John in the van, Millie throwing some punches of her own with “that’s for Kyle! That’s for my son!”
I love Millie. Well played, Bianca Kajlich.
Betty is now their cop on the inside, so that all worked out. To make their escape look real, she asks Carlos to “give it to her” – much like the punch in Folsom Prison Blues to make Sam and Dean’s escape look believable. Betty’s tough.
Betty and Mary bond over wishing they didn’t know about monster club and over both looking out for John, which I give her a whole lot of credit for. She didn’t seem to want the breakup with John, so her bonding already with John’s new girlfriend is something that must be challenging for her and is maybe happening a little too easily. It seems John’s right when he says she’s a good cop though.
Lata tells Carlos one more thing, not because of the bracelet this time, but because she’s learned something from the bracelet experience and doesn’t want to keep things from her friends. That her parents are still alive. She says she’s sorry for not telling them the truth, and once again JoJo Fleites makes what Carlos says in return poignant.
Carlos: As far as I’m concerned, your parents are dead to me. I still have nothing but love for you.
He’s pretty sure John and Mary will feel the same.
And then he says something really important.
Carlos: If you need time to tell them your story, take it. Because it’s your story to tell.
When JoJo Fleites gets the chance to do some serious scenes, he’s really good – that was a lovely scene between Lata and Carlos and some nice dialogue.
John and Mary finally manage to leave town. They drive, John reliving Kyle’s death – both of them determined to “find this guy” in the picture.
Two more episodes left, so I’m guessing they find him fairly soon. The question is, what will his story be when they do? And how will the fandom feel about that reveal? Has the show ‘played itself’ by showing its cards little by little or will that be an effective strategy?
We’ve had secrets revealed and revisiting (and working through) the traumas of your past as the route to being free of it in almost every single episode. Being trapped by your past and the possibility of breaking free of that is the theme of the show. Does this apply to Dean too?
It’s a theme that resonates with me as a psychologist, but I wonder exactly how it will play out in this show. We’ve also had people being stuck in alternate realities in many of the episodes, which I’m assuming is a clue to what is actually happening to Dean – but again, we don’t know exactly how. Is he stuck somewhere (physically or mentally) trying to find his way out? Is Sam?
Stay tuned to find out on “The Winchesters” 1.12 The Tears of a Clown!
