Supernatural: Funeralia
April 20, 2018 3:19 PM - Season 13, Episode 19 - Subscribe
Sam and Dean must stop Rowena, who is on a deadly mission. Meanwhile, Castiel reaches out to the heaven for help and gets a surprise.
Whooooa, I know all the magical lore flies over my head sometimes, but what the hell did Sam let Rowena unlock that gives her the power to kill reapers??
Also, I almost forgot about Billie/Death and the books about Dean's death. I guess they're finally using that to set up the next season, with fate being out of wack and stuff.
I knew angels were dying left and right, but I didn't realize they were really going extinct that fast! a total of 9?? And the guard Indra wants to die? Wow so when they're not being dicks they're whimpering cowards. It wasn't clear to me in the last episode the Lucifer left after failing to be "God", but it was a surprise that Naomi is back.
Whooooa, I know all the magical lore flies over my head sometimes, but what the hell did Sam let Rowena unlock that gives her the power to kill reapers??
Also, I almost forgot about Billie/Death and the books about Dean's death. I guess they're finally using that to set up the next season, with fate being out of wack and stuff.
I knew angels were dying left and right, but I didn't realize they were really going extinct that fast! a total of 9?? And the guard Indra wants to die? Wow so when they're not being dicks they're whimpering cowards. It wasn't clear to me in the last episode the Lucifer left after failing to be "God", but it was a surprise that Naomi is back.
I was half expecting Atropos to show up at some point, they kept talking about how Rowena was changing fate etc. which is close to exactly what they were discussing after Balthazar saved the Titanic in S6. I guess it's easier to use Billie instead, because she is a more current character.
Naomi is kind of a strange choice, I don't think she was terrible, but never super interesting either. Maybe it's some kind of deception by Lucifer? After the angels kept disappearing into the backroom I thought they were setting up the Lucifer reveal.
How many balls do they have in the air now? (All the AU peeps, Naomi, Angel extinction, Gabriel, Lucifer and Anael) Not to mention the stuff that's been introduced and then kind of put aside, (Shedim, the Big Empty & Cosmic Entity)
Waiting for the Shedim to make a reappearance, although now that Asmodeus is gone that's probably on the long term backburner, and perhaps for Prime Universe Michael to show up as has been teased IRL.
posted by Query at 7:09 AM on April 21, 2018
Naomi is kind of a strange choice, I don't think she was terrible, but never super interesting either. Maybe it's some kind of deception by Lucifer? After the angels kept disappearing into the backroom I thought they were setting up the Lucifer reveal.
How many balls do they have in the air now? (All the AU peeps, Naomi, Angel extinction, Gabriel, Lucifer and Anael) Not to mention the stuff that's been introduced and then kind of put aside, (Shedim, the Big Empty & Cosmic Entity)
Waiting for the Shedim to make a reappearance, although now that Asmodeus is gone that's probably on the long term backburner, and perhaps for Prime Universe Michael to show up as has been teased IRL.
posted by Query at 7:09 AM on April 21, 2018
A good episode, but Lucifer just being gone from heaven seemed like too much of story jump. I'm guessing the angels are subjecting him to some sort of unpleasantness in that backroom they kept visiting.
With that line about how "everything ends," I had the feeling there was a bit of meta-commentary there. Also, the thing about how Sam will inevitably be the one who kills Rowena, that seemed like another set-up for some final season stuff. The show feels like it could just go and go, but it can't. I know they've already been renewed for another season, but I imagine the folks behind the scenes have got to be thinking about an endgame here.
If they're actually planning a season where all of the dead souls EVER come back to Earth, that seems a little too ambitious for this show. I mean, the world would be overrun with countless billions of ghosts! I'd kind of like to see it, but it'd transform the show completely if the world suddenly had more ghosts than living people. You can't really do MOW episodes with something like that going on.
They got more pathos out of Rowena than I was expecting. Her relationship with Crowley was always so twisted, but you did get the feeling she did care about him on some level. (He never really seemed to like her even a little bit, though.) She seems to be in the good-ish camp, at least for now. I suspect we will see Crowley again at some point, even if Mark Shepherd has been adamant that we never will.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 8:05 PM on April 21, 2018
With that line about how "everything ends," I had the feeling there was a bit of meta-commentary there. Also, the thing about how Sam will inevitably be the one who kills Rowena, that seemed like another set-up for some final season stuff. The show feels like it could just go and go, but it can't. I know they've already been renewed for another season, but I imagine the folks behind the scenes have got to be thinking about an endgame here.
If they're actually planning a season where all of the dead souls EVER come back to Earth, that seems a little too ambitious for this show. I mean, the world would be overrun with countless billions of ghosts! I'd kind of like to see it, but it'd transform the show completely if the world suddenly had more ghosts than living people. You can't really do MOW episodes with something like that going on.
They got more pathos out of Rowena than I was expecting. Her relationship with Crowley was always so twisted, but you did get the feeling she did care about him on some level. (He never really seemed to like her even a little bit, though.) She seems to be in the good-ish camp, at least for now. I suspect we will see Crowley again at some point, even if Mark Shepherd has been adamant that we never will.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 8:05 PM on April 21, 2018
Yeah, but if all the ghosts come back we can bring back ALL the dead folks!
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:23 AM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:23 AM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
Maybe the "all souls come back to Earth" thing could be an interesting final season arc. It'd be a good excuse to revisit a lot of old stuff. But while it's been fun to see old characters again, I've actually been having trouble remembering who some of these people are. This show has been on SO LONG, it's hard to remember the details of stuff from 4, 5, 9 seasons ago. (Like, I don't even remember the original Michael's deal. Was he good-ish? Evil? I'd have to go check the Wiki to find out.)
One of the reasons it's too bad Rowena didn't bring Crowley back is because it'd be fun to see how he'd react to her doing such a loving, altruistic act on his behalf. I'm guessing he'd insist she had an ulterior motive, or he'd resent her for it and feel like it was too little, too late. However he reacted, you KNOW there would have just been more drama and snarking between them.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 2:08 PM on April 24, 2018
One of the reasons it's too bad Rowena didn't bring Crowley back is because it'd be fun to see how he'd react to her doing such a loving, altruistic act on his behalf. I'm guessing he'd insist she had an ulterior motive, or he'd resent her for it and feel like it was too little, too late. However he reacted, you KNOW there would have just been more drama and snarking between them.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 2:08 PM on April 24, 2018
I for one would love to see Bela Talbot again (and Lauren Cohan can use her natural British accent!), but I suppose it'd be an alternate dimension one, since she's in hell, and hopefully that version didn't make a crossroads deal either.
Also, maybe Sam finally ends up with Amelia? She technically chose him over her husband even though Sam decided for her.
posted by numaner at 3:02 PM on April 24, 2018
Also, maybe Sam finally ends up with Amelia? She technically chose him over her husband even though Sam decided for her.
posted by numaner at 3:02 PM on April 24, 2018
See, I don't even remember Amelia! Was she a girl Sam almost settled down with, while Dean was in Hell? It's funny, but even a lot of the best Supernatural stuff has become kind of vague in my memory. Every now and then I'll get curious about a long-running character's arc and I'll hit the wiki and it'll blow me away how the character did ALL THIS STUFF and was good and then bad and then good again and then they died. I guess that's just the nature of such a long-running, serial show. It all kind of becomes a blur. (But then, I'm not watching the reruns. There are probably plenty of fans who know every detail because they've seen these episodes six times each!)
I was thinking the other day that they've really dialed back the MOW episodes, or at least they do a lot better at kind of folding them into the larger stories. Not so long ago they used to awkwardly say, "Well, we're not making any progress finding that artifact that will save the world, so let's go out on a case!" The MOW episodes came to feel like a definite detour from the big arcs. But now it seems like it's mostly the big arcs, and if they do a MOW it's usually tied into the arc somehow. It seems like a long time since they just went and hunted for hunting's sake.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 5:43 PM on April 24, 2018
I was thinking the other day that they've really dialed back the MOW episodes, or at least they do a lot better at kind of folding them into the larger stories. Not so long ago they used to awkwardly say, "Well, we're not making any progress finding that artifact that will save the world, so let's go out on a case!" The MOW episodes came to feel like a definite detour from the big arcs. But now it seems like it's mostly the big arcs, and if they do a MOW it's usually tied into the arc somehow. It seems like a long time since they just went and hunted for hunting's sake.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 5:43 PM on April 24, 2018
Heh technically Scoobynatural was a MOW, and that was only 3 episodes ago. And it was definitely a case of "while we're sitting here waiting on Cas with that spell ingredient here's a weird thing to check out"
posted by numaner at 1:41 PM on April 25, 2018
posted by numaner at 1:41 PM on April 25, 2018
Fair point, but that seemed like less of a MOW and more of an "event" episode. It felt like they were specifically minimizing all of the arc stuff as much as possible in that one because they knew they would be getting a lot of new viewers. It really felt like an outlier.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 8:38 PM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Ursula Hitler at 8:38 PM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
Quote
Jessica: Hi, Dean.
Dean: Wait… Jessica?
Sam: So you know her?
Dean: Yeah, she’s a reaper. She tried to take me into the light. Didn’t work out.
Jessica: It really didn’t. And honestly it’s been a little sad watching you go this long without telling Sam about me.
Sam: Hold on a second. What do you mean "watching?"
Jessica: Well, after Dean’s little trip to the Veil, Death asked me to keep an eye on you two, in case.
Dean: In case of what?
Jessica: This, I guess. I don’t ask Death questions. Never goes well.
Sam: So what, you -- you’ve just been... hovering around us, invisible, like a -- like a baby sitter?
Jessica: No, no, more like a baby monitor.
Sam: And -- and you’ve seen, um...
Jessica: Oh, everything.
Dean: You mean, like, everything everything?
Jessica: I’m especially fond of Sam’s impressive… extensive array of hair products.
Sam: ...
Jessica: [looks at Dean] Not to mention, the three-day-old bacon cheeseburger in your room, or the VHS tape hidden under your bed labeled "Sweet Princess Asuka Meets the Tentacles of Ple--"
Dean: Okay, all right, all right, that’s not cool, okay? That’s -- first of all, that’s a classic. Secondly, the burger's for emergency cases only.
Sam: Okay. Gross.
Trivia
"Funeralia" comes from the medieval Latin for "funeral rites".
An angel is named Indra, which is one of the chief ancient Hindu deities. This is out of pattern with the other angel names, which follow traditional angel name patterns in the Abrahamic tradition.
When Jessica asks the boys whether they've heard of the Butterfly Effect, Dean says it's "Ashton's second-best movie". This is a reference to the Ashton Kutcher film The Butterfly Effect.
posted by orange swan at 5:20 PM on February 23, 2022
Jessica: Hi, Dean.
Dean: Wait… Jessica?
Sam: So you know her?
Dean: Yeah, she’s a reaper. She tried to take me into the light. Didn’t work out.
Jessica: It really didn’t. And honestly it’s been a little sad watching you go this long without telling Sam about me.
Sam: Hold on a second. What do you mean "watching?"
Jessica: Well, after Dean’s little trip to the Veil, Death asked me to keep an eye on you two, in case.
Dean: In case of what?
Jessica: This, I guess. I don’t ask Death questions. Never goes well.
Sam: So what, you -- you’ve just been... hovering around us, invisible, like a -- like a baby sitter?
Jessica: No, no, more like a baby monitor.
Sam: And -- and you’ve seen, um...
Jessica: Oh, everything.
Dean: You mean, like, everything everything?
Jessica: I’m especially fond of Sam’s impressive… extensive array of hair products.
Sam: ...
Jessica: [looks at Dean] Not to mention, the three-day-old bacon cheeseburger in your room, or the VHS tape hidden under your bed labeled "Sweet Princess Asuka Meets the Tentacles of Ple--"
Dean: Okay, all right, all right, that’s not cool, okay? That’s -- first of all, that’s a classic. Secondly, the burger's for emergency cases only.
Sam: Okay. Gross.
Trivia
"Funeralia" comes from the medieval Latin for "funeral rites".
An angel is named Indra, which is one of the chief ancient Hindu deities. This is out of pattern with the other angel names, which follow traditional angel name patterns in the Abrahamic tradition.
When Jessica asks the boys whether they've heard of the Butterfly Effect, Dean says it's "Ashton's second-best movie". This is a reference to the Ashton Kutcher film The Butterfly Effect.
posted by orange swan at 5:20 PM on February 23, 2022
Naomi's hair is absolutely terrible. It looks like a cheap wig and it's even worse than the original Meg's do.
I'm surprised the writers recycled the name Jessica. They've also reused Jo. But then it's not like those aren't common names one would be likely to come across more than once in 15 years.
posted by orange swan at 5:21 PM on February 23, 2022
I'm surprised the writers recycled the name Jessica. They've also reused Jo. But then it's not like those aren't common names one would be likely to come across more than once in 15 years.
posted by orange swan at 5:21 PM on February 23, 2022
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Yeah, I was also really surprised by the lack of Lucifer in heaven. I didn't realize he bailed. And also, only nine angels left?
I knew it was never going to happen, but when I realized Rowena was trying to bring back Crowley, I was really hoping we would see his return. Not surprised it didn't happen.
I didn't mind Naomi as a character, but it did seem kind of weird to bring her back, especially since it's hard to think of a really compelling reason for her return. It just seems like with apocalypse world Bobby, Charlie, and Kevin Tran returning, plus Gabriel coming back, not to mention Ketch, Rowena, and of course Cas, maybe we've had enough resurrections/returns for one season? I mean, I know this show is always bringing people back, but it's starting to feel a little excessive, even by this show's standard.
what the hell did Sam let Rowena unlock that gives her the power to kill reapers??
This was awhile ago, but wasn't it something about the Grand Coven putting a binding spell on a her more extreme magic? Or maybe I made that up? But yeah, witches have never really made a lot of sense in this show. I kind of wish they had stuck with the first type of witches we saw (the ones who had to borrow power from a demon to do spell work).
posted by litera scripta manet at 5:43 PM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]