Episode Title: “Heaven Can’t Wait”
Writer: Robert Berens
Director: Rob Spera
Previously on “Supernatural”
If you can wade through the muck of The CW’s programming, there are a few gems. I’ve always believed “Supernatural” to be among that small alumni. It’s a show that has one of the richest mythologies on television; it’s constantly expanding and inventive. The characters are endearing and wonderful on screen, and the show’s fan base is what drives it season after season.
I’m also of the firm belief that the show should have ended with season five. To quote Dean (Jensen Ackles) in season two, “what’s dead should stay dead.” Since that season, it has been a struggle to watch. The Sera Gamble seasons were just that, a gamble, and most that didn’t pay off. A few stand alone episodes have made an impact, but the season long story arcs suffered for it. When Jeremy Carver took over the show, things changed. The writing improved, the season long story arcs were better and the mythology became richer.
Season nine, to this point, has been a let down. Don’t get me wrong, the episodes have been good, but the story has suffered tremendously. In a way, last season’s big ending has proven to be a case of a show being “too big for their britches.” To most TV viewers, it means one less show to watch. Hell, I review “Dracula” for this website, and I think of it in those terms. To the others, the fans, people like me: it’s heartbreaking to watch the show you’ve invested so much time in suffer.
Castiel (Misha Collins) has been somewhat of a saving grace this season. His human transformation and exploration is “Supernatural” at its deepest levels, comparable to the deeper moments of Dean’s demon deal that made up the bulk of season three.
Cas has a job as a sales associate at a gas station, complete with blue vest. His humanity is purely learned at this point. At the beginning of the episode, he’s learning how to make a cup of coffee by observing a customer. Later in the episode he tips Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean off on a local case, where people are being vaporized by an angel.
Kevin (Osric Chau) has started to make headway on the tablet, though he translated it into a language that none of them know, Elamite. Seems like a pointless waste of time, but then again, anything to slow down an already slow plot, right? The team splits up; Dean goes with Castiel who reluctantly agrees to help him with the case. Sam stays back with Kevin to help translate using the endless library of the Men of Letters compound and our resident demon on hand. Cas’ identifies the type of angel as one that smites painlessly, those who are too far gone and in endless pain. At one point, he tells Castiel that he follows the sound of their pain.
Sam and Kevin go to the only person in their midst who can help them translate: Crowley. Of course, it’s not going to be easy as Crowley wants to make a phone call. The plots employed by this show to keep Crowley around are tiring. As much as I love Mark Sheppard in this role, Crowley is past his prime and he’s overstayed his welcome. He puts in a call to Abbadon (Alaina Huffman) who appears to be taking souls before their time and doing a better job of being in charge down below. If there’s one thing to be said about both characters, it’s that the potential showdown between them could be epic, and it will hopefully be a developing plot in the future. After the call, we learn that the spell which expelled all the angels from Heaven is irreversible, or is Crowley lying? Only time will tell. Again, anything to keep the character around longer… For the fans, right?
In an interesting development, Castiel is asked out on a date with a co-worker, Nora. Turns out that Nora has a date with someone else and really wants Cas for babysitting. Cas’ parenting skills, or lack there of, lead to some really terrible singing, but also to the angel, Efram. Really? Nora… Efram. Sure, it’s a little different, but still, worthy of a laugh and head scratch. The angel is dispatched a little too easily, rendering him unimportant.
By the end of the episode, we’re left right where we began. No closer to any kind of larger story. This type of episode is painful to watch. They serve as a point to check in with characters that haven’t been featured in some time, but they add nothing to the show in any way. The tight nit storytelling of last season has fallen apart without warning. What has changed with the show’s writers?
“Heaven Can’t Wait” commits the same crimes that the second episode of the season, “Devil May Care,” did. It gave viewers the run around, taking no risks at all and telling a very sloppy, boring story. The human elements of Castiel’s character have been great up to this point. There are specific, tiny nuggets of great character work here, particularly the coffee scene, and another at the end of the episode, where Nora tells Cas that, because he “cares so much,” makes him great. All Castiel can do is stare, disappointed. In a way, that speaks for us all
With each new episode, I continue to lose more and more faith with “Supernatural.” I’ve always felt like the stand-alone episodes were best saved for the companion novels that come out every year. There is no reason for them to play a big part as they have to this point, and in this great abundance.
The pitfalls of “Heaven Can’t Wait” make it one of the worst episodes of the season, and in “Supernatural’s” history.
