Roundtable Discussion on Supernatural 12×9 First Blood
We are back from hiatus with a new Supernatural Roundtable. This week we’re discussing episode 12×9 entitled “First Blood”. Joining in the roundtable are Debbi Bach, Michele Villery, Jackie Bojarski, Lis Schweitzer and Kelly Silva.
As always, we encourage everyone to keep the conversation going, by leaving comments.
Below are this week’s topics!
Sam and Dean:
Debbi: Love them when they work together to outsmart and overcome the baddies against the odds. They are so BAMF and intelligent this episode, almost too much so but then they are not called WINchesters for nothing.
I didn’t think they ‘broke’ under the solitary treatment as much as they just needed to get out and on with their jobs. Dean’s words to Mary made me wonder though. Making a deal with Billie seemed extreme.
Michele: This is the Sam and Dean that I love. Kicking ass and taking names. No matter who tried to help them, they broke out and outsmarted the soldiers themselves. They also did it without killing them.
Lis: There is no more bad ass of a duo than these brothers!! I love that they are still together and no matter what they have gone through, they have not lost their humanity. By sparing the soldiers they truly show they do not believe their lives are worth more than anyone else’s.
Kelly: It was great to see the boys again after the hiatus. The episode starts with Sam and Dean going to prison. They are in solitary confinement until they tell the U.S. Government why they were trying to kill the President. After being locked away for six weeks, Dean realized no one was coming to save him and Sam. Dean decided to take matters into his own hands. Now, at this point, I’m wondering why Cas or Crowley couldn’t do a locator spell. Why didn’t they find Rowena to do a spell? Sam and Dean were kept at a secret Government facility, but it wasn’t warded from angels or demons. Anyway, continuing on, Dean and Sam are found dead and brought to the morgue at the facility. Dean and Sam come back to life and take off, trying to escape. My favorite quote came from Dean when he quoted Cool Hand Luke, “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.” Dean then gave me the chills when he told Rick Sanchez, “’Cuz we’re not trapped out here with you, you’re trapped out here with us.” I’d be amiss if I didn’t mention that I loved it when Sam told Rick, “We’re the guys who saved the world.” More chills! The reunion between Sam, Dean, and Cas was genuine and the boys were thrilled to see their mother. We find out how Sam and Dean had come back from the dead. I think the fandom had guessed a deal was made, we just didn’t know who was involved.
Jackie: Ok, first things first: I absolutely loved everything about this episode except the last five minutes. Not only did with get to see Sam and Dean save themselves but we also got to see them work together as one unit, during which they’re at their best. Problems arose for me, however, when it was revealed that they made a deal with Billie to escape because imprisonment “broke them.” It’s just not plausible to me that they would cave after six weeks of imprisonment after everything they went through in hell. Other than that, this episode featured classic Sam and Dean, and I loved every minute of it.
Cas:
Debbi: He confused me. I get that he can’t fly with broken wings (‘bad grace’), but you’d think he could locate the guys using angel mojo. We need an explanation as to what he can and can’t do. Wimpy, pity me Cas is a waste of a good character. That said, killing Billie was a very bold move and I think we’ll see some huge repercussions from his actions. Also, I was sure she was the new ‘death’….put another mark in the ‘wrong’ column for me.
Michele: This confused me too, Debbi. I know he can’t fly, but can’t Cas use his mojo to locate them? He was pretty much helpless until he killed Billie. And I liked that whole last part as to why he did that.
I fear that kill will cost the Winchesters and him on a cosmic level like Billie stated. That said, I really miss bad ass Cas. I don’t get the direction of his character. He’s not helping the boys now or Mary.
Lis: I miss Cas working with the king of hell. He needs a buddy! I am worried that he may have had a mental health/emotional breakdown after spending months looking for the boys without success. Losing them for months without any way to track them seems to have really got to Cas, rightfully so, but I have a feeling he may make some unwise choices in the future out of fear of losing them again.
Kelly: I felt like Castiel was completely out of sorts. For weeks, Cas was in the bunker with all that supernatural knowledge at his fingertips, but he came up with nothing on how to find the boys. I thought that Cas of season five would have found Crowley and Rowena and made them do something. Instead, he went to Mary who nixed that idea and contacted the BMOL instead. I will say he redeemed himself when he killed Billie to stop the deal. However, what pandora box did he open by breaking the deal?
Jackie: I was also perplexed by Cas in this episode because I feel like the writers didn’t really know what to do with him. Does he have his angel powers or not? Is he a hunter now or not? We see him in the same state of helpless that we’ve him in for seasons now: unable to help find the boys, unable to work a hunt and still unable to figure out technology. It’s season 12, for chrissake; you’d think Cas would’ve picked up some skills by now!
With that said, I do have to give him kudos for acting quickly to save the Winchesters from Billie’s deal. Like he says, the world needs them and Cas obviously needs them, too.
Mary:
Debbi: She seems to be a little cold toward her sons, especially Dean. I’m wondering if her mind is having trouble accepting them as adults since her memories are of very young children. In reality they are strangers to her, and that is how she acts around them.
Additionally, I think she’s not happy being back from the grave, hence her willingness to sacrifice herself. Just food for thought.
Michele: I still think Mary is finding her way and not very happy about being brought back. She seems understandably lost. At every turn, she is willing to sacrifice herself for her boys. I wonder if she will try to bring the BMOL down after her meeting with Davies.
Lis: Mary is still as selfless as ever. It was so intense when she was about to take her own life! Ahhhhhh! I am super excited she is getting back into hunting, but why Mary, why would you trust the BMOL?! No good can come of this!
Kelly: This entire season I have been trying to keep an open mind about Mary. I wasn’t happy that she went back to hunting while her boys were incarcerated. She went to the BMOL, who tortured one of her sons, for help finding them. She did offer herself up to Billie, but I felt it was too little, too late.
Jackie: Mary is quite the hunter, isn’t she? She drove in to take care of Cas’s vamp problem with no backup and emerged without a scratch on her. Did she help take care of that pack of werewolves, too? I can only assume so. With that said, I have to wonder if working with the British Men of Letters is the best course of action. I think I preferred when she was suspicious of them….
BMOL:
Debbi: Slimey limets for sure. Mick comes off like a bad used car salesman/demon making deals. I hope Mary is smart enough to not trust them. I want to believe she’s infiltrating rather than joining them. I don’t think these guys are working on the side of good.
Michele: They are psychotic. Plain and simple. With all of their good looks, gadgets and snappy dress, they are without a soul. I’d like to think Mary is taking them down rather than joining them. She’s a pretty smart and capable hunter to not realize they are slime.
Lis: I have so many mixed feelings! I’m happy they stepped in and helped Sam and Dean find Cas and Mary, but seriously? There was NO need to take out the soldiers. They were only doing their jobs but it really demonstrated that the BMOL are more concerned with their objective than human life. There is no way Sam and Dean would ever work for them, but I have a feeling they will get Mary to get Sam and Dean to unwittingly do the BMOL’s dirty work.
Kelly: The BMOL are still trying to influence American hunters. They help Mary and Cas rescue Sam and Dean but we know that there is a price tag attached to that. I don’t trust them. We still don’t know their motivation.
Jackie: Despite the fact that they came in to help find the boys, I still don’t trust them. There’s too much that we don’t know about their true agenda. Are they being sincere about their desire to rid the world of the Supernatural? And what would an operation of that scale require? I fear that they have ulterior motives.
Predictions:
Debbi: The BMOL continue to be shady, Mary gains their trust and we learn they are planning some hideous fate for the US or just the Winchesters.
Sam and Dean learn they killed the soldiers and start to research them more thoroughly. Maybe recruiting Crowley to help. Cas…has perhaps set off a set of circumstances that will threaten both he and the boys.
Michele: I think Mary will take the BMOL down and as a result, sacrifice herself for her boys after she learns of the BMOL’s fate for them. The rest? I have no clue.
Lis: Mary getting mixed up with the BMOL is Trouble and I have a feeling they will only see her as a “loose end” when their end goal is accomplished. Cas is technically supernatural, so if the BMOL are set to take out anything that fits that category, Cas will probably end up on their hit list
Kelly: I think Sam and Dean have a lot on their plate in regards to the BMOL. I’m sure there are going to be consequences to Cas killing Billie.
Jackie: think Mary is going to be on board with the BMOL and I think it’s going to create tension between her and the boys. I also think that we’re gonna see Cas continue to struggle with his role in the world.
Overall Score:
Debbi: A
Michele : A
Lis: Tough one. I was super excited for this ep. The writers/directors/ actors are all so phenomenal so I give them all an A+, but I have to deduct points for killing Billie, so my overall is a B+.
Kelly: B- …I really liked parts of this episode, but I felt like there were a lot of holes too.
Jackie: B+. Aside from the last five minutes, this was a pretty solid episode.