Supernatural Review: The Vessel (Season 11 Episode 14)

Any time that the Winchesters time travel, I always enjoy the episode.

“The Vessel” is no different.

When Supernatural goes back in time, it’s always very purposeful, usually a time when Dean and Sam are seeing their parents, or when the show is using time travel as a way to show the Men of Letters storylines.These stories always serve a greater purpose to the larger story at hand for Sam and Dean.

While the time travel element of “The Vessel” really has no greater movement for the larger story at hand with Amara, the episode manages to stand alone anyway, and non-time travel moments allow a few other important elements to fall into place that will affect the Winchesters’ future.

In just forty minutes or so, the writers create a compelling story about a woman of Letters, Delphine, and her mission to protect a great weapon, the Hand of God. Delphine is bad-ass immediately. We watch her undercover as she kills a crude German man who she’s been forced to romance for the greater good. We see the effects she’s had on a submarine vessel during WW2, and the loyalty of the men on board who vow to protect her, despite how weird things get.

There’s a part of me that wishes that Delphine will not be a one-off character because she is so engaging. However, her story ends when the hour is up and we discover that she’s gone out with a bang, using the Hand of God to obliterate the German submarine operated by the man she thought she killed.

Dean’s role in this episode is merely to be a bystander while this submarine story unfolds, but he’s so clearly impacted by what he sees on the ship that I think those images will stay with him.

Another highlight of the hour is the time Dean spends answering questions about the future for a young man named Petey. Petey isn’t interested in Angels or the Men of Letters. He asks Dean the questions that we’d want answered if a person came to see us from the future.

Who wins the World Series? Who’s the next President? When will the war end?

Petey is another standout character who is written so well that it’s a shame we most likely won’t see him again.

Here he is, this man from the future who is warning the crew that they will die within the hour, knowing that he cannot save them. It’s a tough pill for him to swallow. Letting people die is not the Winchester way.

The action on the other side of time is also exemplary in “The Vessel.”

Mischa Collins is knocking it out of the park every single week as he plays Castiel possessed by Lucifer. It feels repetitive to harp on this week after week, but it’s impossible not to be impressed by his performance.

This episode, in particular, showcased some personality swapping moments as Castiel peeked through Lucifer to alert Sam of what is happening. The look of complete confusion mixed with fear on Sam’s face as Castiel tells him that he CHOSE to let Lucifer in is quite possibly the highlight of the entire hour.

We also finally get a look at what Crowley has been doing with Lucifer now in control.

I hate seeing Crowley being used, essentially, as a lap dog. However, with all of the nastiness Crowley has created for the Winchesters it certainly isn’t the worst that the writers could dole out to Crowley.

Still though, I feel sorry for him. Maybe it’s one of those complexes where you can poke fun at something familiar to you, but when someone else does it it bugs you? I want Crowley knocked down by the Winchesters. When Lucifer does it, it’s just not as fun and I end up hoping that Sam and Dean will save the King of Hell.

When Dean does return safely back to the future, with the Hand of God in his possession, he and Sam have a lot to talk about, especially when the Hand turns out to be a “one time use” type of thing. At least Delphine creamed that German ship.

I love that all of the secrets are out in the open now, heading full force toward the back half of the season. Sam knows about Dean and Amara’s connection. The brothers know that Lucifer is using Castiel as a vessel. (Hey! That’s the title of this episode and it works two ways!)

And now we can move forward, with all of the cards on the table.

We only needed to go back in time to be able to truly move forward.

Next week, the Winchesters are wrestling with something and it looks like Crowley is taking a beating! Check out this preview for, “Beyond the Mat”!

What did you think of this episode of “The Vessel”? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Supernatural airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on The CW.

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