First things first. WTF? That was my reaction on more than one occasion as “My Heart Will Go On” got rolling. For a moment there, I actually started wondering if I hadn’t missed an episode somewhere over the long break. Like maybe the CW was all crafty and snuck in an episode in January that dealt with Jo and Ellen coming back. The way things kicked off made for a very unsettling entry into the latest adventure. Of course, it all came clear in time, and while doing so made for quite the entertaining story.
It was, in fact, entertaining enough that it didn’t even bother me that the show was running headlong into one of my least favorite things. I’m usually not a big fan of episodes that ultimately didn’t happen. Resolutions where it was all a dream, the timeline was reset, or any number of other shenanigans that leave us in a place where we just spent an hour on something that no longer matters, are most often annoying at best. Fortunately, it wasn’t the case here.
For one thing, this story does still matter in the morning. Castiel’s decision to let the boys remember everything that happened means that this is something that is going to color their experience moving forward. To what degree, we’ll have to wait and see. More importantly, the titanic adventure gave us another small glimpse into the war. And it doesn’t look like things are going so well for team Castiel. Saving the Titanic to create “more souls for the war machine” sounds like a desperate maneuver, at best. Also worth noting, Sebastian Roché is awesome as Balthazar.
I do have a couple of small complaints. It was great to see Ellen (Samantha Ferris) again, but why not have Jo (Alona Tal) there too? Off in California? Bah! If I really think about it though, I seem to remember that I was much more fond of Jo than a lot of fans of the show were. So, perhaps that decision makes sense on some level. The other complaint comes down to something Atropos (Katie Walder) said. She threatened Castiel with her bigger and badder sisters, but I was always under the impression that Atropos, the oldest of the three, was the one to be worried about. Clotho spun the thread of life, and Lachesis measured its length, but Atropos cut the thread and ended the lives of mortals.
That may be picking nits. Ignoring who might be bigger and badder, the weaving of The Fates into the story was very clever. I especially enjoyed the showdown between Castiel and Atropos. She makes for a fascinating character and I do hope we’ll see her, and/or her sisters, again at some point. All things considered, another very good episode as the show once again pulls off a story that most shows simply wouldn’t be able to.
Clacked by Brett Love 
on Apr 16, 2011 @ 08:42 EST5EDT
