For the third outing in a row, it seems “Supernatural” still wants to milk as much as is can out of its remaining episodes, even if that means meandering through a yet another hunt. “Drag Me Away (From You)” attempts to give viewers the old ‘the past comes back to haunt you’ with a Winchester twist, but really- the episode is a vague attempt to drive a rift between Sam and Dean and let us know one important fact: the beginning of the end IS coming.
With only 4 episodes left, I get the sense that e16 is the last episode of its kind. From here on out, how it ends should start to take form.
Episode 16 finds Sam and Dean traveling back to a motel from their childhood, one where they formed a friendship with a pair of siblings and baby Dean seemingly took care of a monster all by himself. Of course, the Winchester brothers didn’t know as much as they do now, and the past brings them back to the same hotel as one of the siblings turns up dead under mysterious circumstances. Dean has once again chosen to withhold information from Sam regarding Death’s final plan, and Death puts Dean on notice that all side quests need to be wrapped up as Chuck just destroyed his last world and his coming for theirs.
All of this, including the hunt from the past to the present seems like a veiled attempt to give us small nuggets of information for the episodes ahead. Unlike “Gimmie Shelter” and “Last Holiday,” episode 16 doesn’t quite hide its intentions as well as it thinks. There is only so much anticipation you can build before even the most diehard of fans want to start moving towards some kind of conclusion. “Drag Me Away (From You)” is about as close to a filler episode as you can get. Seeing as how this is it for the beloved show, it is something “Supernatural” really can’t afford right now.
Viewers don’t need to be assaulted with exposition, but any more than a few episodes and there’s a sense that the conclusion is going to floor it through the finish line. While the last two episodes were complimented for their restraint, “Drag Me Away (From You)” doesn’t quite strike the same balance. The last thing we want is a rushed ending to 15 seasons of “Supernatural,” and if the story doesn’t start moving toward its end, there is a chance we may get just that. I trust the showrunners enough to not fault the entire show on one misguided episode, but there won’t be many more chances to get it wrong, either.
Something tells me the last 4 “Supernatural” episodes are going to have a much different tone. I, for one, am hoping for this, so my recaps can have a different one as well.
