'Supernatural' | 'The Raid' S12E14 Overview
WARNING: SPOILERS!
With Mary at odds with Sam and Dean, can she convince them to work alongside the British Men of Letters?
‘The Raid’ is a well-written, solid mid-season episode. In a departure from the show’s usual format, the opening scene immediately continues on from the events of the previous, with Mary explaining her actions to her sons.
In a heartbreaking scene, Sam and Dean are horrified by Mary's deception, understandably angry that she would work with those who kidnapped and tortured Sam and nearly got Castiel killed.
Mary has subscribed to the BMoL’s greater plan to control the monster population of the US and bring the American hunters into line. She genuinely believes that they can create a better world, so that her boys can live a ‘normal’ life - basically trying to fix the mess that she made by dealing with Azazel in the first place.
Unfortunately, Mary hasn’t taken the time to get to know her boys, who are now effectively strangers to her. Dean and Sam were overjoyed at having one of their parents back, but now that parent has abandoned them again and they are heartbroken.
Days later, Sam and Dean are dealing with the aftermath in their usual ways. A frustrated Dean seeks alcohol after accusing Sam of playing peacemaker and taking the middle ground all the time. Sam, true to form, takes the middle ground and goes to meet with Mary, and unintentionally gets a tour of the British Men of Letters temporary base and learns about their plan to eradicate vampires from North America. Yep, that’s right. Monster genocide.
Meanwhile, Mr Ketch turns up at the bunker with a bottle of scotch, trying to win his way into Dean’s heart. After a time of uncomfortable silence and pensive drinking, Ketch talks Dean into hunting vampires with him, and they head off to vent their frustrations. It seems Ketch is trying to prove his manly hunting methods to Dean by taking a machete instead of a gun, and trying to beat information out of the unfortunate vamp they capture. Dean stops him and intimidates her instead, but they are too late - the rest of the vampires have gone hunting.
At the BMoL base, the vampires are closing in, and without giving too much away, Sam deals with them all. The vampire attack was a well-orchestrated scene, with plenty of running and fighting through corridors and a beautiful moment when Sam is re-united with the Colt. It was nice to see the return of the vampire Alpha, although he didn’t play a huge role in the action.
Unfortunately, the aftermath wasn’t as satisfying as the rest of the episode. Sam’s acceptance of the BMoL's plans was surprising, as he’s usually the first to advise mercy and restraint - especially with monsters they know to be non-violent, such as Garth, Benny, or the other werewolf girl, Kate. Is he just playing along for Mary’s benefit, or does he really believe that the BMoL know what they are doing? After the display with the vampires, that’s doubtful.
It’s also hard to believe that Dean would forgive his mother’s deception at the first sign she was in danger. Sam might have a harder time convincing him to go along with the plans than he thinks, especially because, by picking the Men of Letters, he’s picked Mary’s side over Dean’s.
The majority of this episode was excellent - the writing, cinematography and great acting combining to produce an exciting monster-hunt with a twist.
The next episode, ‘Between Heaven and Hell’, will bring the main Lucifer story arc back into focus. Can the Winchesters pull themselves back together to concentrate on the bigger threat?
Watch ‘Supernatural’ on the CW at 8pm EST, Thursdays. Airing on Eleven at 9:30pm Mondays in Australia.
