Supernatural Review: Stuck in the Middle (With You) (Season 12 Episode 12)

A monster-of-the-week MASTERPIECE.

I cannot think of a better way to sum up Supernatural Season 12 Episode 12, “Stuck in the Middle (With You),” no matter how hard I try to come up with some crazy and catchy headline.

When a show goes on for more than 10 years, it gets tired. Wear and tear, you know.

While Supernatural hasn’t always impressed me with its long-game villains, the standalone episodes that showcase the creativity of the writing staff seem to negate the cop-out season enders (God and his sister walked away HOLDING HANDS, and I’m still like, WTF?!).

“Stuck in the Middle (With You)” is tonally different, right off the bat. Just 60 seconds into the hour, you realize that this isn’t going to be a run of the mill monster-of-the-week.

Instead, the hour is packaged like a short Quentin Tarantino film, a clever out-of-sequence adventure that uses quick time shifts to tell the whole story.

And what a story.

Mary has been moonlighting for the British Men of Letters, and I’ve hated it. The entire BMoL storyline has been awful, and it still is. This episode doesn’t change that.

But it DOES bring the Colt back into the picture.

Yep. THAT Colt. You know the one (and if you don’t, I can’t fathom why you’d be reading this).

But Colt aside, Mary’s involvement with the BMoL is what sets this entire hour in motion – a demon that she knows she needs her boys’ help with, but has no idea that the circumstances will pose mortal danger. (Poor Wally.)

Mary is keeping secrets from her boys – we know that. I thought surely that she would be caught this time. I’m almost upset that she doesn’t, in a way. Her deal with the BMoL almost killed one of them. (You all caught that Mary thinks of Castiel as one of her ‘boys,’ right?)

And she STILL doesn’t give herself up, or that she stole the Colt!

It’s crazy, really. What would it have taken for her to confess everything? Cas was seconds away from death, and Sam and Dean were going toe-to-toe with the rightful King of Hell.

Mary, Mary – what is she thinking?! Is Mr. Ketch worth THAT much? Even Wally didn’t trust the BMoL sales pitch. If an unseasoned hunter isn’t buying it, why is a Winchester? Isn’t it in her blood to know better?

And laying all of that aside, when Mary gets a glimpse of those yellow eyes, it should be her wake-up call to tell Sam and Dean everything – she had every opportunity.

I’m growing suspicious of her. I’d hate to think ill of a Winchester, but something has felt ‘off’ about her since she first decided that she needed to leave and be on her own. Was there something in John’s journals that changed her?

I just can’t pinpoint what it is, but guys, there’s something about Mary. (I’m sorry. I wanted to get through the whole season without saying that.)

The timing of the hour allows us to get a flashback to how Crowley became the King of Hell.

When Ramiel turned down the crown because he wanted to be left alone, he casually told Crowley to take it.

Suddenly, so much makes sense about Crowley.

He didn’t do a thing to earn his crown – he was in the right place at the right time. Always an opportunist.

Crowley: I admit it, they don’t sound like much. But every Armageddon, every bloody ‘this is the end of all things,’ the Winchesters stopped it. Like it or not, they’re an asset we can’t afford to lose.

It also explains why Crowley’s not very eager to ditch his alliance with the Winchesters – he’s not stupid. He knows that ultimately, they might be more powerful than he is. He’s keeping his enemies close.

Maybe that’s also a great explanation for THIS:

Lucifer’s back y’all.

And not only is LUCIFER back, but it’s the REAL Lucifer – Mark Pellegrino, whose appearance is a huge (and so incredibly welcome) surprise.

I’m not going to pretend that it’s not inexplicable. There is no way to re-write the ‘meat-suit’ rules that will totally make sense in terms of continuity. But dammit, I don’t care. I’ll eat up whatever excuse they concoct for this.

No Lucifer has held a candle to the original. Rick Springfield, Mischa Collins, the guy who played the President that one time – none of them truly captured every nuance of the Lucifer created by Pellegrino. I’m ecstatic that he’s returning.

Seriously, I pumped my fist in the air and cheered. But hey, I’m also a Jersey girl.

What is Crowley doing with Lucifer? How did he end up in a cage, shackled up like a dog? Is he weak? I can’t wait to see how this story will unfold in the coming weeks.

There is something so satisfying about seeing Sam gut Ramiel.

His history with yellow-eyed demons runs DEEP. I’d get into the specifics here, but again, it seems unlikely that if you’re reading this, you’re unfamiliar with Supernatural mythology.

We get to spend very little time with Ramiel, but there’s no doubt that he’s cut from the same cloth as Azazel was.

If I may gush for a moment about anything in this episode, it must be the final showdown between the Winchesters and Ramiel.

Dean: Do you have any idea who we are?

Dean and Sam’s fearlessness in the face of a Prince of Hell is every reason why I didn’t buy them breaking in prison back on Season 12 Episode 9.

The Winchester brothers are bad-ass mofos. Let’s just call it what it is. I love moments when the brothers embrace every reason why they are legendary.

Overall, this is a chapter of Supernatural that will become an automatic classic, and it will deserve every fond accolade that fans heap upon it over the years.

Stray Observations:

• Was anyone else a little disappointed that Castiel didn’t head back to the diner after beating death to awkwardly hit on Mandy? I mean, he knows when she gets off. (ba-dum-chhh)
• The emphasis on Castiel being family is really amping up, and I hope it’s not going to lead to something bad for him.
• ‘Extra Cheese’ is an amazing wifi password for a diner. I hope some diner out there actually uses it.
• “What the hell is a Prince of…Hell?” Dean Winchester, ladies and gentlemen.
• Only Dean would want a girl who smells like food.

What did you think of this episode of Supernatural? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Supernatural airs Thursdays at 8/7c on The CW.

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