The Road So Far…
"Changing Channels" had so much potential, yet failed to meet it. First of all, the actor who played the Trickster got lied to… that hair dye is not doing him any favors. Secondly, the jokes were a bit predictable. The soap opera in particular was extremely overdone. "Dr. Sexy?" I mean seriously. Everyone, including soap fans themselves, can appreciate soap opera jokes, but that was a bit over the top. In the end we got a mediocre attempt to be funny with some weak foreshadowing tacked onto the end.
"This is about you, being too afraid to stand up to your family," exclaimed Dean in response to Gabriel's expression of his desire to sit out the war. I am at a loss as to what this could mean. Is he saying that Armageddon is happening because the Angels aren't taking a stand against eachother? If I'm not mistaken, that's exactly the problem. With God missing, the Angels have been divided into two camps; those for apocalypse and those against. Unfortunately, most angels seem to be in favor of the apocalypse. If there are angels following Zachariah's lead against their better judgement there has been little indication of such a divide so far beyond Castiel. Even if there were, Dean hasn't seen such evidence and it seems an odd reply to someone who just wants to let the war end as soon as possible. One could argue that Gabriel joining the fight might help end the war sooner, but that doesn't explain how pushing for civil war would best serve the goals of either Gabriel or the angels in general. Granted, I don't know what the writers have in store and I am hoping that Dean's statement proves to be more relevant than it does right now.
As for Gabriel, he is a fairly well known angel in Christian theology. In the Bible, Gabriel is belived to be the messenger of God whose main purpose is to reveal prophecy. It is said that he was the angel who told Mary she would eventually give birth to the messiah. With particular relevance to Supernatural, Gabriel is also the predicted to be the angel that will signal the end of time. Many different interpretations of this prophecy have been written over time and it is hard to believe that the writers have not seen at least a little of it. Surely, the onset of the apocalypse and the introduction of Gabriel into the Supernatural mythos are not a coincidence and this particular archangel will likely return later on in the season.
However, I do hope we still get to see the real trickster this season, because Sam had a pretty good idea; a reality warping demi-god would be a powerful ally indeed. Even if we don't, the fact that Sam would suggest such an option indicates that Sam may not have learned the lesson the original Trickster tried to teach him back in season 3; his actions do not matter in the face of destiny. The trickster tried to warn him that he would be unable to save Dean and he refused to listen because Sam truly is his father's son. Sam still insists on treading dangerously on the edges of the grey areas between the black and white world Dean lives in. As Gabriel exclaimed why Sam and Dean were always at the center of the prophecy it began to seem more and more likely that Sam and Dean will once again be able to escape their fate as duelists battling over the fate of the planet whilst not destroying it at the same time.
Tha Next Episode: The Real Ghostbusters. "Sam and Dean are tricked into attending a Supernatural convention by their super-fan Becky. Sam and Dean are in for a shock when many of the fans are dressed up like them." I like this premise a lot. The introduction of Chuck as a prophet was pure genius last year and I'm really hoping for a freak out moment from one of the real Winchesters a la William Shatner and his eponymous debut on Saturday Night Live AKA "Get A Life!"
