Alpha and Omega

Supernatural reached a point that dug into a very primordial, pre-biblical, existential issue. God vs Darkness, creation vs nothingness, yin and yang etc... One can't go on without the other. In addition, fans know supernatural a little to well a little too much and they just want to see their ending. It is very hard -impossible- to transfer the vague idea of creation, genesis, and "the beginning" on to the small screen. I believe they did a good job, it was a great season, not perfect, not a 10 but hey...:

"Endings are hard. Any chapped-a$$ monkey with a keyboard can poop out a beginning, but endings are impossible. You try to tie up every loose end, but you never can. The fans are always gonna b!tch. There's always gonna be holes. And since it's the ending, it's all supposed to add up to something. I'm telling you, they're a raging pain in the a$$."

This episode is built out of ad hoc parts-Billy helping, the way too convenient asylum-while built on a false tension (of course Chuck isn't going to die)-as it plods along to a predictable outcome. Of course the siblings make peace with each other. Add in that it feels anticlimactically because of the far grander prior episode and this episode brings the season to a whimper. I think the writers knew it too because they needlessly force in the set-up for the British Men of Letters in this episode. At this point in the show's run the writers are clearly recycling as this episode concludes the tablet-mark of Cain-Darkness story that was in the works since season 8m pretty much how Swan Song concludes the first 5 years of the show. The episode feels very tried and true so it hold your attention but it is a poorer copy of the prior material.

Season on the whole:

That largely describes the season on the whole as well. There's less of a drive and spark in this season; the central arch plays it very safe and it's underwhelming as a result. There are flashes of former glory-Collins as Lucifer for example-but the Darkness story, very much including the name, is clunky, pitched and faintly a little too absurd. With that said-frustratingly so-there's a handful of episodes this year that among the very best in the show's run. "Baby" is an absolute gem of an episode and its sheer brilliance shines upon the whole season. Likewise, "Just My Imagination" and "Safe House" are real bright spots that raise the season on the whole a lot. This season is really when the show starts to fall into either truly great episodes or episodes being a tedious bores. Even season 6's unevenness wasn't quite this stark because when season 6 didn't work the show was at least *trying* to be different and move in a new direction. (Season 11 is slightly better overall in large part because the highs are *really* high) This season feels stuck for the first time.

Best 3 Episodes:

1. Baby 2. Safe House 3. Just My Imagination

Worst 3 episodes

21. Thin Lizzie 22. The Devil in the Details 23. Alpha and Omega

I have to say this season season 11 finale was an absolute pleasure to watch, as was the balance of the season. In Alpha and Omega, the most enjoyable was the entire principal cast interacting in close quarters. The writers must have had a blast. It was both hysterical and touching in a way that wasn't soapy, overly melodramatic or trite. Authentic I guess. Real and appreciated given the series often tongue-in-cheek disposition. While I have never been a big fan of all the heaven vs hell thing, preferring instead the monster of the week format, I cannot get over how well the writers pulled this off. Without giving away anything specific, I can tell you that if you've ever been a fan of the show and it's colorful cast of characters, this episode will not disappoint.

People joked about how in Suicide Squad Harley Quinn was fan service, but since the end of Episode 5 the series has been nothing but fan service for fan girls. Blech. I suffer through it with my wife mainly for the one liners. The guy who punches up dialogue is a genius. The rest of them are Nucking Flutz.

The writers were true to the ridiculous set-up from previous episode. I just don't know how much of this Series I will watch of Season 12. Technically speaking I should NOT continue to watch any of it. I started watching in the first place to see how this series managed to have 15 Seasons in the first place?? I thought I had a few Seasons ago. Just trying to figure out what the writers were hoping to accomplish in the form of entertainment. The whole God/Chuck, Lucifer/Castiel, Amara, Metatron characters were an out of the fantasy realm of absurdity.