Well. There was an episode. Things took place. Some of these things worked. Most of them did not.
It’s a shame last week’s fabulous About a Boy was followed by such a dud, especially as Halt and Catch Fire set out with all the right ingredients for a good time. At least it passed the Bechdel Test.
Supernatural has shown us ghosts haunting all kinds of things over its ten seasons, but a ghost haunting the wi-fi was a stretch too far. Paired with its incessant jabbing at millenials, the episode ran like an ad against young people and their obsession with social media and technology, rather than an entertaining ghost romp. Dean’s preoccupation with college girls verged on creepy, not funny. The supporting characters were cardboard cutouts and the dialogue left a lot to be desired. Additionally, plot holes abounded. How they managed to get such a great looking video-chat while in a basement with terrible signal is beyond me.
There were some nice moments. The salt and burn. The teaser. Brothers being brothers. Some of it even managed to inch the plot forward: the traditional brotherly heart-to-heart revealed Dean’s resolve to stop searching for a cure and to accept that he’s stuck with the Mark, and his conversation with Delilah about forgiveness and moving on (while possessing all the subtlety of an 18-wheeler) was necessary to get him to this point and so is, perhaps, forgivable.
Learning to live with the Mark, as Cain has, would be an important step forward for Dean, but we’re not quite there yet. He’s recommitted to his goal of saving people, hunting things, (the family business!) but there is inevitably a long way yet to go on this road for Dean. Let’s hope some good episodes speed us on our way.