Supernatural Review: Keep Calm and Carry On (Season 12 Episode 1)
Hail Mary!
Mary Winchester is back from the dead, and it may be the best storyline that’s come along on Supernatural in years.
While Season 12 Episode 1, “Keep Calm and Carry On,” has a number of excellent stories and elements to talk about, I’ll start with the biggest — and most important — one.
When Mary Winchester graces the screen, it never feels like a new character has been introduced, though for all intents and purposes, she IS a new character.
Mary is adjusting to the world around her. She’s not the confident and fierce woman we’ve known through flashbacks, but rather a person who’s just struggling to figure out what she’s missed, both with her family and with the world in general.
Her (re)introduction goes pretty predictably; Dean tells her facts about her life that only family would know to assure her, and then catches her up on how things have changed.
The fun begins when she meets Castiel and they seem to bond over mistrusting technology, and she’s reunited with Baby…and a longing glance at the backseat makes Dean laughably uncomfortable.
What strikes me about her reemergence is how seamless it feels.
There isn’t any awkward tension between she and Dean. They easily pick up a mother and son relationship. She’s comfortable with him almost immediately. She steps back into hunter-mode so easily that it’s no wonder that she was a master of it while she was alive….
…that is, until she makes a kill to save Dean, and is flooded with the harsh reality of what happened between John and the boys after her death.
She never wanted her boys to grow up and become hunters.
It wasn’t the life she wanted for John either. The immense guilt that resonates on her face is perfect as she considers why the Winchesters are in their current circumstances.
Had she never made that deal with Yellow Eyes, everything would be different.
And she knows it.
I can’t wait to see how this continues to be explored over the next few episodes, because it’s a dream scenario for a show that never brings someone back from the dead in a way that feels recycled. The opportunity to tell Mary’s story must have the writers’ room in a joyful tizzy.
I’m also really intrigued by how Mary’s dynamic with Sam will play out. Sam never had a chance to know his mother the way that Dean did. Sam will be starting totally fresh with her, and it will be interesting to watch that relationship unfold.
Hopefully it happens sooner rather than later, because I really hate when Sam and Dean are separated.
Sam’s hostage situation is a bit annoying, though it DOES allow for viewers to see Jared Padalecki drenched in water for a majority of the episode, so it’s great if you’re into that. For me, it’s just “meh.”
I already don’t enjoy the English, sorry, BRITISH, Men of Letters story.
I can’t quite decide if it’s because Toni is so immediately unlikable, or if it’s the actual premise of what’s happening. Her explanation is confusing, and it’s odd that the British MOL is so intent on torturing Sam for information.
If the British MOL is SO great that they want American hunters, shouldn’t they be able to track them down on their own, like, without intel from a Winchester? Something is off here. I can’t be the only one who sees it.
Elsewhere in the hour, we see a glimpse of what havoc Lucifer is wreaking, though, it’s really unsurprising. It does, thankfully give us a chance to be re-introduced to Crowley…like, the REAL Crowley. Not the Winchesters’ sidekick, or the ‘King of Hell’ who scrubs the floors with a toothbrush.
This Crowley feels like the same character we first met way back in the day. As his struggle for power over Hell with Lucifer continues, I hope that Crowley continues to be devious and takes no prisoners.
Crowley is much more fun when he doesn’t have a conscience in the form of a Winchester.
The great news is that we’re 12 years into Supernatural the show still feels fresh. They’re still surprising viewers. There aren’t signs of aging. Sure, there was a little wear and tear during that god awful Leviathan season, but for the most part, the show still has a lot of life left in it.
Carry on, Supernatural.
What did you think of this episode of Supernatural? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Reviewer Rating:
User Rating:
Supernatural airs Thursdays at 9/8c on The CW.
Christine Laskodi
Christine is guilty of watching Hart of Dixie more times than the average human will in their lifetime. She's the host of Long Live the Hart: A Hart of Dixie Podcast (available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!) as well as co-host on The Shipping Room, a podcast devoted to television's greatest relationships. You can find some of her older television reviews at TV Fanatic and IGN. Christine eagerly anticipates every cheesy holiday movie that networks can throw at her, and current favorite shows include The Good Place, The Resident, Shark Tank, and All Rise.