“The Future”

Supernatural prepares for the birth of Lucifer’s child as Sam and Dean try to figure out a way to make sure that the potential danger is removed.

Kelly Kline being on the run protected by Dagon has been going on for what seems like forever but there also hasn’t been that much time spent on it. This is good because it gives the impression of long form storytelling while hiding the fact that there isn’t a lot of story there. Kelly isn’t all that interesting a character and Dagon is fairly one note so spending more time with them would make that clear.

The potential threat that Lucifer’s child represents is a lot more interesting as it could go in any direction at this point. Whether people are inherently good or evil has been brought up a few times with no definitive answer given but this episode strongly suggests that Lucifer’s child might not actually be evil. Of course our source for this information is Kelly who is clearly not in her right might at this point. The child is clearly influencing her in some way as she seems unnaturally elated when talking about the prospect of giving birth. This comes after she tries to kill herself and the baby keeps her alive. Dagon points out that it’s trying to save itself but Kelly thinks that it’s a sign of goodness in her child.

She is also starting to see herself as being important because she’s carrying the child of Lucifer which suggests something of an inferiority complex. Castiel tells her that Lucifer has no grand plan and that his recent actions were the equivalent of a child breaking toys to get attention. Lucifer slept with her because she was there and the body he was inhabiting happened to be involved with her. There’s nothing more to it so Kelly’s sense of purpose is unfounded. She does talk a bit about how she sees herself. The job she did was completely unfulfilling and not going anywhere. She was also in an inappropriate relationship with her married boss who happened to be the President of the United States. Good life choices aren’t something that Kelly Kline was known for and that has led her to the messed up situation she happens to be in now.

This level of depth given to Kelly feels like it has come very late but it also sets her up as a character who could be redeemed in some way. She may have made some mistakes but she is answering for them and sees how her choices have brought her to where she is now. There’s an opportunity for her to do something important and meaningful. To her that means giving birth to Lucifer’s child because she sees him as being a force for good that is going to change the World in a positive way. It’s unclear if that will actually be the case or if it’s a defence mechanism on the part of the child to make sure that he’s born. My thinking is that Lucifer’s child will be the focus of next season as there isn’t enough time to fully develop this idea before the end of the season. I assume that he will grow to an adult very quickly in the same way Amara did and that his allegiance will be either a mystery or fluid throughout next season.

Castiel played a big part in this episode after being absent for so long. He has literally been on the side of the Angels since we last saw him and has been working to track down Kelly with their help. This means that he has distanced himself from Sam and Dean until he needs something from them. He returns to them in this episode with an ulterior motive in mind. His objective is to get a hold of the Colt so that he can use it to kill Dagon.

Dean is enraged at Castiel when her returns because of the way he has approached his absence. Not only has he not been in contact but he has wilfully ignored their messages. Castiel did something similar to this before back in “The Man Who Would Be King” when he was almost ashamed of his actions and couldn’t face Sam and Dean as a result. I get the sense that something similar is happening here as Misha Collins’ performance suggests that he isn’t proud of what he is done but is willing to see it through anyway because he feels that the ends justify the means.

Stealing the Colt is a betrayal as far as Dean’s concerned because Cas could easily have told them the whole truth and worked with them to figure out a plan that suits everyone to some degree. Lies and deception are something that Sam and Dean have moved past with each other so they both seem to have a very low tolerance for it. Dean brings up Cas’ erratic behaviour throughout the season such as killing Billie among other examples. He seems to think that Cas is unravelling and a large part of that has to do with the threat that Lucifer’s child represents.

As good as all this is it doesn’t quite work. Castiel’s motivations feel flimsy because there hasn’t been enough development of Cas working with the Angels again. In theory it makes sense as he has been separated from them for a long time but in practice his underlying reasoning for working with them beyond being terrified of Lucifer’s child remains a mystery. There’s a real opportunity to explore feelings of loneliness and isolation caused by being exiled from his family and some of this could inform his questionable behaviour this season but most of what we see is surface level.

The child forms a special bond with Cas by showing him the future. That future is apparently a really positive one that really needs to come true. Of course the obvious possibility that the child might be creating false images in order to gain support is ignored by Cas because the contact is clearly something of a euphoric experience. This is repeated later when the child gives Cas a significant power boost that allows him to easily dispatch Dagon. The gradual loss of his Angel powers has been a significant plot point for Cas over the years so it’s easy to see how having a taste of being at full strength would be appealing to him. It’s unclear if this upgrade is permanent but the glowing yellow eyes suggest that Lucifer’s child created something similar to the Yellow Eyed Demons like Azazel, Ramiel and Dagon. It may not make Castiel as powerful as an Archangel but he’s certainly more powerful than Dagon though some of that could be the element of surprise.

I’m very interested to see what the dynamic between Cas and Kelly will be in the coming episodes and the opposition he’ll face from the other Angels for wanting to bring this child into the world. It’s possible that the child will do the same thing to the other Angels and create its own army of powerful soldiers or it could be that Heaven won’t exactly be a safe place for them to be. The death of Joshua leaves a bit of a power vaccuum that could easily be filled by Castiel. There are lots of interesting possibilites to be explored with perhaps not enough time to consider all of them.

It’s a shame that Dagon was dispatched at this point as she was an interesting antagonist. Her loyalty to Lucifer seemed absolute which actually seems to contract with the desires of the child who was clearly content with seeing her dead despite the commitment to protect him. Dagon’s motivations were never properly explored but ACTRESS did a really good job playing the character and it feels like her exit was premature. It might have been enough for her to be rejected by the child in favour of Castiel and explore how that betrayal makes her feel.

Dagon destroying the Colt was a massive surprise. It has been on the show since season one so it feels like something significant has been lost. It’s a bizarre choice since it was only recently reintroduced but it does help to raise the stakes by removing something powerful from Sam and Dean’s arsenal. They still have the Angel Blade and other such weapons but the Colt was useful because of its longer range. Between this and the Alpha Vampire it feels like the writers are tidying up loose ends for reasons that remain unknown.

Verdict

A solid episode that returns to the Lucifer’s baby story and delivers some interesting developments. Kelly Kline is more fleshed out here as she starts to feel a sense of purpose because she is carrying the child of Lucifer. It is pointed out to her that Lucifer had no plan and she just happened to be there. The suggestion that the child might not be evil is an interesting one and I suspect it will play out over the course of the next season. I also liked the way it was able to manipulate Castiel into protecting it. It remains to be seen what the true intentions are but the effect makes for compelling viewing.

This was a big episode for Cas as he has to face Sam and Dean following his decision to distance himself from them. Dean doesn’t take it very well and Cas only comes back to them so that he can steal the Colt which Dean sees as a betrayal. This mirrors Cas’ previous behaviour. Misha Collins’ performance suggests that he isn’t proud of what he is doing but feels like it’s the right thing to do. There’s a lot of potential to be found in Cas protecting Lucifer’s child and the power upgrade that he is given suggests that the child could create his own army of powered up Angels. The death of Dagon and destruction of the Colt both feel somewhat premature as Dagon had more to give especially since it’s clear that the baby didn’t want her around. Getting rid of the Colt was a shock but also bizarre since it had barely been reintroduced.