‘Supernatural’ | ‘The Memory Remains’ S12E18 Overview
Sam and Dean Winchester are searching for a missing teenager - taken, witnesses say, by a goat-headed man. However, the town is harbouring an even more dangerous secret...
SPOILER ALERT!
A teenager goes missing in the woods of Wisconsin. A witness says he saw him knocked out and kidnapped by a goat-headed man - a creature known as Black Bill, according to local legend. Sam and Dean receive a message from Mick Davies to check it out. Without any leads on Dagon and Kelly, and with Castiel still missing, they take the case.
The name of this episode, ‘The Memory Remains’, references a Metallica song about a faded artist who loses her fame and goes insane. In this episode, the town loses the protection it had gained from the deal with the god, Moloch, and things start to go awry.
Despite being eighteen episodes into the season, this week’s instalment featured a very straightforward monster-of-the-week plot. The most important part of this episode wasn’t the shenanigans the boys got up to while hunting down Black Bill; rather, it was the British Men of Letters, who (in a scene that is uncomfortable to watch), enters the bunker the Winchesters make their home, searching it for the Colt, and anything else they can use to bring about their downfall.
Why on earth didn’t the Winchesters change the locks when Mick first let himself into the bunker last episode? Still, it provides a few laughs: “How does Sam get his hair so shiny? How many ratty flannels does Dean own?”
Meanwhile, the monster-of-the-week hunt was fairly lacklustre, regardless of its tense scenes in the abandoned house, and Dean’s battle with Moloch in the cold room.
This episode is a true filler episode - without any mention of the major story arcs besides the BMoL and their mission. Castiel is still missing, and although Dean has been searching for him, they don’t really have any leads on his whereabouts, or on Kelly and Dagon. Mary is completely absent except for the photos Ketch found in Dean’s drawers, and Crowley and Lucifer are also missing.
Even with all the missing storylines, it was good to have a story focussing solely on Sam and Dean, doing their hunting thing out in the open world - something that we haven’t seen them do for a while. This episode also brought back the classic horror-film atmosphere that has been missing from most episodes this season - the blood sacrifices and nightmarish goat mask, the tense creeping around and the jump scares. Nice.
The final scene taking place back in the bunker, Dean expresses his worry that they won’t leave a legacy once they’re gone. It’s a strange scene with a nostalgic feeling linking back to when they carved their initials into the table in the Impala back in Season 5, but also leaves the viewer with an uncomfortable feeling that Dean is suddenly aware of his own mortality. Are the writers preparing for an endgame? We know that Season 13 is confirmed, but it’s not too early to start preparing for a proper ending sooner or later…
Then of course, there’s the final call with Ketch and his creepy, possibly unhealthy obsession with Mary. He’s obviously still harbouring feelings for her. Will he have to choose whether to eliminate her too?
Ultimately, other than the very end, this was a forgettable episode that didn’t add much substance to the story, other than to give the BMoL a brief look around the bunker. It wasn’t awful, but didn’t feel like an important part of the overall plot.
‘Supernatural’ will return to the US on Thursday April 27 at 8pm on The CW, and Monday May 1 in Australia on Eleven.
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