"Supernatural" - Hammer of the Gods

I meant to write this post sooner, but 1) I got distracted, busy weekend, it happens, and 2) I spent a lot of time on Wikipedia looking up things for this episode. Why couldn't this episode have been the 100th? Not that the 100th episode was bad, not at all, but it wasn't quite as mindblowing as I'd hoped it would be. It had some fantastic Castiel moments; I really missed him during last week's episode, but then again, I can't see how they would have worked him into that story. He better come back soon enough that we get a lot of him before the season ends. Partly because I love him and partly because I want to know what the hell happened to him. Anywho, this post is on the 101st episode, and boy was it a doozy. Rather than writing an epic essay on the "Supernatural" episode like I used to do on my other blog, I'll make a more user-friendly list of general comments about the episode/things I liked/things I didn't like.

1. The fact that this episode was set in Muncie, Indiana. Even the "Supernatural" writers know that Muncie is so in the middle of nowhere that they can host a pagan gods convention at a hotel and it won't make headlines.


2. The name of the hotel: The Elysian Fields. I openly admit, although I am really interested in mythology, my knowledge of classical mythology is lacking. But that's what Wikipedia is for. At least I know the show well enough by now to know that they didn't name the hotel something weird for no reason whatsoever. So, according to Wikipedia, the Elysian Fields were the final resting places of the souls of the heroic and the virtuous in a level of the Underworld. Take away what you will from that. I love when they add details like that.
   
   
3. The Season 1 flavor plus the Season 5 mythology. It was kind of like "The Monster at the End of This Book" in that way, how it started out like a classic monster-of-the-week episode and ended up being a pivotal episode for the mythos.
   
   
4. The return of other world religions. They already established the existence of pagan gods in the "Supernatural" universe all the way back in Season 1's "Scarecrow" episode and they could have easily abandoned this with the rise of all the Judeo-Christian mythology the past two seasons. But instead, they addressed the issue and made it into an interesting conflict - what if all religions had some veracity? "Supernatural" treats it this way. Rather than picking and choosing what supernatural beings and beliefes they want to accept as true, they accept them all and bring that to the forefront. It certainly seemed like they were abandoning others in favor of Christianity so I am thrilled to see this turn of events. Also, it gives the brothers Winchester possible allies to fight Lucifer/stop the apocalypse.
   
   
5. So, the other powers involved - Ganesh (a Hindu deity), Baldur (a Norse god), Odin (another Norse god), Kali (a Hindu goddess), Baron Samedi (a Haitian Voodoo spirit, not just a James Bond villain), Mercury (a Roman deity), and Zao Shen (a Chinese god). It was fun to see their perspective. It was unfortunate to see them get mostly killed off, but I hope Kali comes back and has a significant part in helping them. Especially now that Gabriel (masquerading as Loki, a Norse god) is dead as well. Maybe a little revenge on behalf of her ex?
   
   
6. Now I'm really curious how the heirarchy of deities works in this world. Is the Judeo-Christian God really above the others? Is Lucifer so much more powerful than them because he's above them? Or are there higher level gods among the pagans who haven't gotten involved because they don't realize how big the threat is or they don't want to get involved.
   
   
7. RIP Trickster/Gabriel/Loki. I don't know if they had it all planned out when he was first introduced (it's farfetched, but I wouldn't be completely surprised), but the twist of making the Trickster the archangel Gabriel was one of my favorite "Supernatural" twists. And it adds another level to the brother vs. brother, brother vs. father dynamic the show has going. I think he's been a fascinating character and he's provided us with some great episodes. (Without him, we wouldn't have the deliciously meta episode "Changing Channels"). It was great to see him finally stand up to Lucifer and pick a side - humans. It seems like the best angels are the ones who actually give a damn about human beings. Unfortunately they're also the ones who suffer the worst fates - Anna, Castiel, Gabriel. But Gabriel admitted it in the end - humans are flawed, but they try to better and they try to forgive. That's something that I would imagine to be refreshing after dealing with arrogant angels and demons your whole existence.
   
   
8. Lucifer finally raining down some hell. I've been waiting for him to kick some ass since he came on the scene, but mostly he's just been relegated to speechifying, as people like to put it. We all take for granted he's a major threat, since it's the freaking devil, but we haven't actually seen him be a real danger until this episode. Mark Pellegrino is great as Lucifer. (I am totally for a "Lost"/"Supernatural" crossover since Pellegrino is Jacob on "Lost" and the Man in Black, Titus Welliver, also guest starred as the horseman War on "Supernatural. How great would that be? Sideways "Lost" is the near-apocalyptic world! The Island is plugging that hole and keeping the darkness at bay, it's really Lucifer's cage! It fits so perfectly it's creepy! But I digress...)
   
   
9. That Ghostfacers thing. I literally yelled at the television with that, because at first I thought it was part of the show and then I realized that it was a commercial just tacked onto the episode.
   
   
10. I'm really curious to know what the writers' religious/spiritual beliefs are. It's completely their private business, and it's not like their personal views have anything to do with anything, it's just a fictional television show, but I'm curious nonetheless.
    
    
11. Lucifer was freed from a cage, so they're going to try and put him back. I don't know why I didn't think of that before. Just when I thought the show was floundering a little, dragging out the apocalypse scenario aimlessly because they don't have a big enough budget to really show the apocalypse, they put the show back on track and bring some focus to the plot. I really should know by now not to doubt the writers. They know what they're doing.
    
    
12. Dean taking a stand and trying to work with the pagan gods. It was great to see him focus again and it really was the best idea to try and make some powerful allies. (And on a shallow note, Jensen was looking good in this episode.)
    
    
13. I really really did not need to see that Pestilence scene at the end. Especially right before eating dinner. They're clearly having some fun though with these horsemen. It makes me wonder what craziness Death will be.

I loved loved loved this episode. There wasn't a single dead spot. I was captivated every moment, and that's not something that often happens for me. (And it gave me my favorite new line, "Don't mock my world turtle.")