Supernatural Round Table S12E17 “The British Invasion”

Heading into the home stretch of season 12, Jackie Bojarski, Lizzy Schwietzer and I discuss episode 17, “The British Invasion.”  This episode was directed by John F. Showalter and written by Brad Buckner and Eugenie Ross-Leming.  Please sound off in the comments and let us know what you thought of this week’s episode.

Sam and Dean

Sam and Dean working with Eileen and Mick to find Kelly:

Lizzy:  I am always a huge fan of great characters coming back. It’s great to see Eileen still hunting even after she took out the banshee.

Jackie:  I always find opportunities for Sam and Dean to work with others interesting, and this case was especially so. Naturally, both Sam and Dean seemed to vibe more with Eileen than they did Mick. They have a very easy, trusting camaraderie with her that they don’t yet have with him. Sadly, we’ll never find out if Sam, Dean and Mick would have reached that state because Mick was disposed of by Ketch.

Debbi:  Once again we see our boys, Sam and Dean, working to shore up the guest actors’ performances.  Did anyone time how long Sam and Dean were actually on screen?  It seemed like very little compared to the rest of the episode.  I have nothing against Eileen; I like Shoshannah Stern and an episode featuring just her would have been great. But here, we cram Eileen, Mick, Hogwarts school of magic, Mr. Ketch, Mary Winchester, Lucifer, Crowley, Dagon and Kelly Klein. I’m kind of surprised that Jody and Donna didn’t show up (heavy sarcasm).  Additionally, it seems kind of silly that Sam and Dean hadn’t tracked Dagon and Kelly down themselves or had the Supernatural Trailer Park BMoL computers handle that task.  I was also surprised that this was the first non-monster that Eileen injured or killed – but whatever.

Sam and Eileen’s friendship:

Lizzy:  They have such a sweet relationship! Eileen is tough as nails, but Sam can bring out anyone’s sweet side.

Jackie:  I think that I’m one of the few people that doesn’t see anything romantic between them. In fact, I really hope that the writers don’t go in that direction; it would be nice if they would just allow them to be friends and leave it at that. I enjoy their chemistry. There’s a quiet trust that you can sense between them, as well as a shared history, which helps them understand each other.

Debbi:  No, Jackie, you’re not alone.  I don’t see romance here. I see trusted friends and an almost brother/sister relationship between Sam and Eileen.  That said, I love how Sam throws in the occasional American Sign Language sign as he’s speaking with her.  That is classic sensitive and politically correct Sam Winchester.

Lucifer, Crowley, Dagon and Kelly

The plan to capture Kelly:

Lizzy:  Not sure what they thought was going to happen once they got her. She obviously has every intention of bringing her baby in to the world. I was surprised they didn’t work on some warding or go somewhere where they could have fought against a prince of hell. When they were out in the open at the docks it was clear that the writers had no intention of making sure the Winchesters were going to keep Kelly in their sights.

Jackie:  In many ways, I feel that Sam and Dean are kind of flying by the seat of their pants in regards to how to deal with the Kelly situation. This episode really showcased that. On one hand, they want to protect her but, on the other hand, they know how dangerous her baby is. As such, I actually think that they aren’t the best people to be calling the shots in this matter.

Debbi:  Plan?  What Plan?  Jackie is right, Sam and Dean are just jumping from one lily pad to the next with no coherent thoughts of what they’ll do when the get there.  Does anyone believe that the Winchesters of all people will kill Kelly just to get at the Nephilim?  I think someone (OK, Sam) needs to spend some time in the library researching exactly what they’ll have on their hands when he’s born and exactly how to kill the monstrosity.  This plotline has really been poorly played out so far.

Kelly and her unborn baby. Finding out she’s not met to survive.

Lizzy:  I think it was more of a shock to Kelly than the audience that she was not going to survive the birth. At least Kelly’s eyes are open going forward.

Jackie:   I was a little confused by the revelation that no human woman survives birthing a Nephilim. Wasn’t it just a few episodes ago that we saw a flashback of Cass and those other angels investigating a possible Nephilim and her mother? If the mother always dies, why would they think she gave birth to a Nephilim? This feels like one of those last-minute canon changes that never fail to irk me.

Debbi:  Good point, Jackie.  I’d have to re-watch that episode to double check to see exactly what the story was, but honestly, I’m not interested enough to do that.  Is anyone surprised that Kelly will not survive the birth of her baby?  Does anyone care?  This entire plot line feels like a fifth wheel – redundant and unnecessary.

Lucifer’s plan for escaping his situation.

Lizzy: Never count Lucifer down. He has survived eons in a pit by himself, only Crowley’s ego could ever make him think Lucifer would ever do his bidding.

Jackie: Lucifer is conniving; as such, Crowley is foolish for keeping him imprisoned like he is. Or maybe he isn’t….it could be possible that he’s fully aware of the fact that one of his demon minions is conspiring with the captive fallen angel in order to aid his escape and is allowing it to continue so that he can gain information. Maybe he needs Lucifer alive because of the Nephilim situation. I wouldn’t be surprised if we find out that Lucifer holds the key to destroying his offspring. As of now, though, it looks like Lucifer’s plan to escape is progressing nicely.

Debbi: Crowley is an idiot if he truly believes that he has Lucifer locked down.  I think Luci is just biding his time and playing with his food while he awaits the birth of his child.  Here we have hell in a delicate political balance, much like heaven was a few seasons ago… it’s just as boring too.  Politics has no place on Supernatural.

Mick and the BMoL

Mick’s flashback dreams.

Lizzy:  How horrifying! Whatever little respect for the BMOL I had is completely gone. No wonder their members are insane!

Jackie:  And now we get to the part of the episode that almost ruined it for me: we see flashbacks of Mick at the Men of Letters Academy, and it looks strikingly similar to Hogwarts. Even young Mick resembles Harry Potter with his arch rival resembling Draco Malfoy. I don’t really understand why the writers decided to depict it this way; it’s blatant plagiarism and it was annoying. They could’ve come up with something original.

Besides that, we did learn a bit more about the mentality of the Men of Letters through these flashbacks. They foster ruthlessness in their recruits, as well as order and discipline. It doesn’t leave a lot of room for compassion or critical thinking in my opinion.

Debbi:  I again agree with Jackie’s assessment of this plot device.  Is there anyone who’s seen the HP books or seen the films that didn’t immediately think of Hogwarts?  The similarities between the two schools couldn’t be more blatant. The Headmistress was nearly as evil as Voldemort!  Imagine having children kill each other to maintain their place at the Academy – how perfectly vile. As much as I wanted to feel bad for Mick, I couldn’t forget that he killed his friend in order to stay at the school. It wouldn’t surprise me to find out that the BMoL is run by demon kind.

Mick’s relationship with the Winchesters.

Lizzy:  I really came around on Mick. I started out hating him, to not minding him, to kind of liking him, to full on screaming noooooooo when he was killed! The Winchesters were able to show Mick the humanity in what they do, and I think had Mick lived, there is no way he would ever have gone back to the ways he was brought up thanks to the Winchesters.

Jackie:  I think that Mick was on the road to seeing that the Winchesters’ way of doing things is the right way. That’s not to say that the three of them still didn’t clash–they did–but you can see his convictions wavering. Ultimately, I think he would’ve been a good ally to them.

Debbi:  Despite or perhaps because of his experience at Hogwarts for the BMoL, Mick proves to be a fairly reasonable person and clearly began to appreciate the Winchester Way of hunting.  He respected both Sam and Dean and I think would have proven to be a valuable ally as they take on the BMoL leadership… thusly, he had to be eliminated.  Too bad, really.

Disobeying the Code

Lizzy:  The code is ridiculous. There is no room for having blind faith in dictators who sit in an office and never leave. They have no business telling those in the fight what to do. Mick gave his life standing up for what he believed in and it just made me like him even more!

Jackie: Unfortunately, I wasn’t the only person that could tell his convictions were wavering; his superiors picked up on it too. And, in the world of the Men of Letters, such doubt needed to be nipped in the bud as soon as possible. Theirs is a world of absolutes, and if Mick was starting to see beyond that, he was no longer useful to them. I was sad to see him go. Adam Fergus is a wonderful actor and I think his character had a lot of potential. It’ll be interesting to see how Sam and Dean react to the news that he’s dead.

Debbi:  I don’t really have anything to add. Both Jackie and Lizzy summed up my thoughts as well as their own.

Mary and Mr. Ketch’s relationship:

Lizzy:  Ew. Gross. That was vile. I predict he will try and play her against her sons, and when that happens, I hope Mary is the one who gets to take him out when he inevitably comes for her sons.

Jackie:  First of all: Ewwww! I hate that the writers had them sleep together and I hate even more that there are hints of a burgeoning romance between them, at least on Ketch’s side. This storyline can’t end soon enough for me.

Debbi:  Allow me to join the chorus of ‘Ewwwwwws’ that are echoing around our table.  This was just over the top.  I know they are trying to establish that Mary is more like John than anyone expected her to be, but sleeping with Mr. Ketch????  This is just a bit too much revisionist history and I don’t see any reason for this plot-wise.  I’m pretty sure this will gross Sam and Dean out as well.

Overall view on the entire episode:

Lizzy:  This is a tough one. I feel like we are going backwards. Right when we start seeing a new side of Mick, he is taken out. Right when we see a new relationship between Sam and Eileen, she had to flee. They get Kelly back, and she is taken away minutes later. We are back to the BMOL being the nasty, blinders on bad guys they were last season. We are back to Lucifer and Crowley fighting to make the other his pet.

Jackie:  I think that this episode definitely moved the story along but I wasn’t very happy with the direction that I saw it heading in. I’m mad that they killed off Mick; I’m mad that they are rewriting canon, again; and, I’m mad that they’ve made Mary and Ketch a thing. Mostly, I’m mad that the big myth arc this season appears to be a mess.

Debbi:  I really disliked this entire episode. There’s nothing new or original here and it feels like we’re seeing the same story over and over again. Additionally, there isn’t nearly enough of Sam and Dean for this to qualify as Supernatural. TPTB always go on and on about this being a show about their relationship, but lately it’s been anything but. I’m truly disappointed with how this season has progressed… and I like Crowley and Cas.

Predictions:

Lizzy:  Kelly will escape but won’t be able to stop the Nephilim from being born. The baby will somehow help Lucifer escape. Ketch will kill Eileen and then come for the Winchesters.

Jackie:  I think that Ketch is going to refuse to follow through with the Men of Letters’ orders because of his feelings for Mary (gag). And I think that we’re going to see a Nephilim being born in the next few episodes. Other than that, I have no predictions.

Debbi:  Lucifer will be freed – probably when his child is born and the Winchester’s will once again have to chase him down and try to get him back in the cage.  I could see Crowley sustaining a grave injury trying to stop Lucifer’s escape leaving him to be cared for by his mother.  Mary needs to go back to her heaven, but I’m not certain we’re going to see that happen.

Overall Score:

Lizzy: B. Loved seeing Eileen and seeing a new side of Mick, but I just wish the story progressed a little more.

Jackie: C. And that’s me being generous.

Debbi: D. I can’t think of one thing I liked enough to raise this score to a C-.

There you have our opinions and insights on this week’s episode.  As always, we invite you to sound off in the comments.  What did you like or not like?  What do you see that we don’t?  Come on, I know you have opinions!