‘Supernatural’ 13x22: ‘Exodus’ kills off an archangel, introduces AU!Cas

“Supernatural” season 13 episode 22 has killed off another great character but introduced another one. The penultimate episode “Exodus” broke hearts and raised pulses, with Sam and Dean Winchester (Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles) trying to bring the surviving humans of the Apocalypse World to Earth.

The following recaps “Supernatural” 13x22, which was aired in the US on Friday. The episode, “Exodus,” will air on Monday in Australia on Eleven.

Immediately following last week’s episode, Sam and Lucifer (Mark Pellegrino) made their way to the surviving humans’ camp and had reunited with Dean, Mary (Samantha Smith), Jack (Alexander Calvert), Gabriel (Richard Speight Jr) and Castiel (Misha Collins). Lucifer didn’t waste time and tried to charm his son into joining him. Jack’s adoptive family were all understandably against their reunion, but Jack, who was having identity crisis all of a sudden, wanted to get to know his father.

Meanwhile, Ketch (David Haydn-Jones) and Alternate Universe Charlie (Felicia Day) were captured by angels, thanks to a human traitor. While they were being tortured, Apocalypse World Castiel appeared. They were rescued by Sam, Dean and Mary, with Cas facing off and subsequently killing his AU counterpart without any hesitation.

“I vastly prefer them to angels,” Cas replied to AU!Cas when the latter called him out for siding with humans.

Exodus to Earth

Sam and Dean presented their exodus plan to Alternate Universe Bobby Singer (Jim Beaver), saying the surviving humans would fare a lot better on their Earth than in the Apocalypse World because Michael wasn’t there. Bobby and everyone else agreed, and so they proceeded to the rift.

Without Lucifer’s grace continuously dripping, the rift wouldn’t stay open as long as it did. An exhausted Rowena (Ruth Connell) held it open every few seconds by reciting a spell. Sam and Dean were able to send most of the humans to Earth, with just a few being waylaid and killed by Michael (Christian Keyes).

Sam prevented Lucifer from crossing over because he needed him and Gabe to fight off Michael. Gabe, who told the brothers to cross over and save themselves, unfortunately was no match for Michael and was promptly killed. Sam again prevented Lucifer from going through the rift.

At the bunker, Bobby welcomed Sam and Dean to the family. Sam and Dean told Cas Gabe’s heroic last moments, while Jack solemnly sat in a corner with no one even comforting him.

Meanwhile, Lucifer was seen making a deal with Michael in the Apocalypse World. They would conquer Earth together so Lucifer could have Jack back. When Michael said he would have everything else, Lucifer appeared to be a tad regretful.

SPN 13x22 ‘Exodus’ review

The penultimate episode, written by Brad Buckner and Eugenie Ross-Leming and directed by Thomas J Wright, was an exciting lead-in to next week’s finale. It had a lot of downs more than ups, though, starting with Gabriel’s death.

Why would they bring back a beloved character only to kill him again? Gabriel’s death might be a heroic one, but it still appears unnecessary at this point. With him gone, which hopefully isn’t permanent again, they would have no archangel defence against the two most powerful archangels. So perhaps that would lead Dean to a decision that would drastically change their fate once more. This might be the reason Ackles would play a different character next season.

Although his death is a huge blow to fans, Gabe was at least able to put his elder brother in his place. Gabe had been running from family drama since the beginning of time, and, as he said, it’s time he stop running.

The lip-twitching, black trench coat-wearing AU!Cas was unlike the beloved Castiel, even when Castiel was still strictly a soldier of heaven. AU!Cas appeared to be from the Nazi regime, even his haircut was reminiscent of that era. Castiel, after undergoing the biggest character improvement throughout the show, didn’t even falter in killing his AU self, proving unremorsefully his love for humans. If there was one scene that could best describe Castiel’s character, it was that scene. He killed himself for humans.

So far, Collins has played three separate characters this season, namely his regular character, Empty!Cas and AU!Cas. And kudos to his superb acting, not one of the three share any similarities and traits with the others.

Sam standing up to Lucifer by simply stopping him from entering the rift is a win for his victimised self. Sam endured mental and probably physical torture by Lucifer, and it’s about time he fought back. It was a simple and obvious-to-the-viewers solution to leave him in the Apocalypse World, and Sam was wise to take it.

And now everyone Sam and Dean love and care about are on the other side, it only means Lucifer and Michael will be successful in opening another rift to terrorise the humans on Earth. There is still Jack’s unresolved feelings about joining his father. The new character, who will be played by Ackles, is yet to be introduced as well.