Supernatural: Meta Fiction review

There is a feeling of finality in the air on the latest episode of Supernatural as everyone’s actions earn more serious consequences. Metatron played a bigger part, showing his face to the boys and Cas for the first time in a long time, proving that he’s gotten more powerful and even more difficult to take down. He takes the role of puppet master, bending others’ wills in order to shape his preferred future.

Metatron lets us know he’s in control right from the start as he talks straight to the camera, tells us he wants to tell a story, and then full-on hijacks the title sequence. The Supernatural logo with dark angel wings is replaced with Metatron’s name. This will be his show.

Or will it? Cas has a solo adventure for the majority of the episode, working in a neighboring town to the boys. He discovers a room full of dead angels and a strange symbol that lured them. We see that Cas isn’t as techno-illiterate as he used to be. He documents the symbol using his camera phone, then sends it to the boys. This coming from the angel who used to not understand the concept of voicemail immediately struck me. In a later scene, when Cas is held captive by Metatron, the God Stand-In pumps Castiel’s head full of the books he’s read and movies he’s watched. Now Cas can understand pop culture references. This was played for amusement when the boys make a Star Wars reference later on, but will this prove to be useful later on? Why give this information to Cas for a cheap joke or two?

A joyous, fangirl pleasing moment was when Gabriel, aka The Trickster, appeared to Castiel and they buddied up for a while. Sure, I thought he’d return after his last stand in the “Hammer of the Gods” episode circa Season 5. He’s the Trickster, so of course he faked his death. This moment just proved it. But then it was revealed as the ultimate trick by Metatron, but not before Richard Speight Jr. showcased some of Trickster’s classic wit and snark.

There’s a great reveal triggered by the camerawork in those last moments with Gabriel. Cas opens his coat to put away his sword and realizes a rip in the coat seam is gone. The camera becomes unstable, tipping unnaturally to reinforce the dreamlike quality.

Metatron remarks how the world is full of stories, and talks about the major players in his plan being mere characters that may or may not surprise the writer (him). There are a lot of playful remarks regarding filmmaking speak and pop culture. Castiel’s coat is a continuity problem. Metatron jokes with the boys when they think they’ve captured him, quipping, “Am I hitting my mark?” Either these are the traditional Supernatural pop culture/television references, or they are reinforcing the idea of Metatron’s storytelling. We cannot deny by the end that he can shape his characters, as Cas addresses his new followers at the end.

When the Winchesters capture Gadreel, he tries to play mind games with them. All the insecurities he claims the boys have appear to be how he thinks of himself. Shaky cam carries over from Cas’s scene, but this time is more dangerous. Dean is not someone to be trifled with, unpredictable and at the mercy of Caine’s mark.

A good episode to advance the plot, but leaves us with more questions. How much control does Cas have over his own actions? Will Dean lose complete control? Will the Trickster make another cameo appearance and explode the Internet with inevitable memes? We’ll have to watch and see.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all news updates related to the world of geek. And Google+, if that’s your thing!