Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided Cinema Sentries with a free copy of the Blu-ray reviewed in this post. The opinions shared are those solely of the writer.
When we last left our wayward Winchesters in Season 13, they had managed to vanquish Lucifer (Mark Pellegrino) once and for all. With Lucifer stealing Jack’s (Alexander Calvert) grace in order to regain his full power, Dean (Jensen Ackles) had no choice but to let the apocalyptic Earth’s archangel Michael (Christian Keyes) inhabit his body in order to stop him. The deal was that Dean would be in control, but after the battle, Michael took over and immediately began implementing his own nefarious scheme to take over the world. While Sam (Jared Padelicki) unsuccessfully searches for his missing brother, he is torn between using all his resources to find him and leading the group of ragtag refuges that they rescued from the other Earth.
Eventually, Dean returns without the angel and the brothers return to their regular ways of hunting only to find that Michael has left some traps out in the world for them and has been increasing the strength and power of the monsters roaming around. As they try to figure out what his plan is and why Dean was released, things turn grim as Jack begins to get sick. Not only is he powerless without his grace, but without it, his human and demon halves are attacking one another and end up killing him. Not giving up on the young man, they manage to find a way to resurrect him. But as with most things there’s a cost. His life energy is being provided by his soul, and if he tries to tap into his powers it will slowly eat away at it.
While the brothers are focused on Jack, their attention wanders away from Nick, who had been Lucifer’s vessel for so many years that he has lost all concept of his own self. And without Sam’s constant attention, he takes off on his own to find out who murdered his wife and son that caused him to turn towards the devil and let him in. As he finds leads to the truth of what happened, it is slowly revealed as he tortures and murders everyone he encounters that Nick was messed up way before the murder of his family and that he enjoyed living as Lucifer’s vessel and reveled in the ultimate power of evil. Ultimately, this will all lead to a final confrontation between the Winchesters, Michael, a psychopathic murderer, a fully powered yet soulless Jack and God himself.
For fans of the show, there are three must-see episodes:
“Lebanon” – This is by far the best episode of the season as their father, John Winchester (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), returns to the show for a very emotional family reunion. It’s long overdue, brings some necessary closure for the boys, and ends with an extremely emotional goodbye. Having found a magical artifact that will grant the bearer’s greatest wish, Dean uses it to remove Michael from his head but instead ends up plucking his father from the past in order to reunite the entire family. There could not have been a better story to honor Supernatural’s 300th episode.
“Absence” – Without spoiling the critical plot point, this episode is an emotional homage to a main character who has fallen, shows how everyone deals with the loss, and ends up being a major catalyst for the season finale.
“Moriah” – This season finale is the biggest in the show’s history. As usual it comes down to one of the boys having to sacrifice himself to save the world. In order to stop Jack, Dean will have to shoot him with the only weapon that can destroy him. But to use the gun, there is a cost. It not only kills the target; it also kills the wielder. While this isn’t anything surprising, it’s the return of God and his ultimate confession and retribution that is a total shocker and complete game changer for the show.
The four-disc Blu-ray set contains all 20 episodes from Season 14 and contains four special features:
- “Supernatural Homecoming: Exploring Episode 300” is an excellent companion for the “Lebanon” episode. The cast talk about the importance of the family reunion and what it means to each individual character, which is incredibly nice because it gives you an extra look into their mindset.
- “The Winchester Mythology: The Choices We Make” is a look into some of the major choices made by the characters during the season. How does Dean’s letting Michael use him as his vessel change the entire tone of the show, and how does his choice compare to Nick letting Lucifer in? Then it compares those two decisions with Jack’s choices to save people and do good while sacrificing his own soul.
- “Supernatural: 2018 Comic-Con Panel” – Once again, the panel was moderated by cast members Gabriel (Richard Speight Jr.) and Chuck (Rob Benedict). They did a better job this year and came across more natural at moderating the panel. Just watching the interactions between the panel members and the teasing of Misha Collins made it fun to watch.
- “Gag Reel” – This is always one of the features I look forward to watching and this year is no different. They are trying to make one another laugh on set, which makes it so much fun for the viewers to watch. It’s short, so not too difficult to set a little time aside to watch and it is so worth it.
The Blu-ray is presented in 1080p High Definition 16×9 1.78:1 with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. The quality of both aspects continues to be as good as on previous releases. The sound is clear and immersive without being a distraction and the video is crisp and clean during the dark and light scenes.
For those who have watched the previous 13 seasons, you know what you are going to get from Supernatural. And Season 14 delivers what is expected with solid stories, a mix of comical moments, and familiar characters that are real and believable. And this year the finale elevates everything to a completely different level. The show has always been about the family bond between the two brothers, but with the addition of both their mother and father at the same time, it really drives the point home.
After every season it’s hard to imagine what the writers can come up with that will be fresh and original for what’s to follow, but somehow, they always find a way to do it. With the revelation at the end of this season, you know exactly what’s coming next. As shocking as it was and even with the realization that the show has painted itself into the ultimate corner with a confrontation that can only have one conclusion, it was even more shocking to hear that Season 15 will be the last. Thankfully, it’s not over yet and we’ve got one more year to enjoy the adventures of the Winchester Brothers.
