Supernatural Review: Celebrating the Life of Asa Fox (Season 12 Episode 6)

Oh, Asa Fox, we hardly knew you.

Supernatural Season 12 Episode 6 focuses on hunters coming together to mourn the loss of one of their own, Asa Fox, a young man who became a hunter after a chance encounter with Mary Winchester back in the day.

I love watching other hunters react to Sam and Dean when they meet them for the first time. It’s easy to assume that the Winchesters must be celebrities in their field, considering everything that they’ve experienced in their years.

But watching the brothers uncomfortably navigate the crowd at Asa’s funeral, as hunters ask about the details that have made them legends, shows that their humility about what they do is still intact (you know, aside from Dean killing Hitler).

Jody: Newsflash, dating is hard.

Having Jody back in the fold is always a joy, but having her return as Asa’s sometimes-girlfriend is a nice touch.

It’s a nice reminder that the hunters we meet and then leave for a while still have lives that go on even when they aren’t with us or spoken about.

Also, I just really love Jody.

She’s used really well in conjunction with Mary, with the two ladies meeting and then having a heart to heart about the difficulties of returning from the dead, and how it feels to reunite with family.

Mary is really going through something, and while I wish that she would wrap it up and go home to her boys, I like that the writers aren’t making it an easy journey for her. The slow burn of the Winchesters becoming a nuclear family of sorts is frustrating, but something I know will be worth the wait.

Mary’s conversation with Asa’s mother is also a highlight of the hour.

The biggest sticking point for Mary is what she’s missed over the years. Asa’s mother tells her exactly what she’s missed. There aren’t any false pleasantries. She doesn’t give Mary a big hug and warmly thank her for inspiring her son to go down the hunting road.

She gives really gives it to Mary, who stands in the kitchen stunned, and saddened.

As far as the villain of the hour goes, the hunter-demon-bad-guy-switcheroo is the answer, something that hasn’t been the case for a long time.

It’s a nice reminder of a simpler time when the villains weren’t huge season long stories, but small vignettes to be solved in an hour. It must be nice to be a hunter whose last name isn’t Winchester – it seems like they are the ones who get to handle the latter more often.

There’s also something fun about watching the hunters together, checking their pockets for holy water in unison, pulling out their flashlights, everyone knowing the same basic Hunter 101 skills. A reminder of those aforementioned good ol’ days of Supernatural.

Billie’s appearance was surprising.

It’s been a while since we’ve checked in with the reaper, who still isn’t ready to bond with the Winchesters. She does Dean a quick favor, returning him to the house, and we think we’ve seen the last of her.

But she comes back with a deal for Mary – she wants her. Mary declines the offer.

Billie: Winchesters.

Surely she’ll return – Billie has become an integral part of this universe. There’s no way that she won’t have a larger role to play down the line, especially given that she seems to have a vested interest in Mary.

What did you think of this week’s episode of Supernatural? Will Billie be back? Are you sad that Mary still isn’t coming home? Sound off in the comments below!

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