 This is a very important episode to me. This is the one that restored my faith in the show back in 2013. At least to say, it still is pretty good. Ooh, that's a hot mug, guys! Hey guys, this is my review for Goodbye Stranger. This is the one where a lot of the plot comes together. We have some wins, we have some losses, and we also have some strife. This is when Castiel and Dean come to a full on head, where the institutional training that Naomi has done to him, making him kill over a thousand other deans, which is a pretty great shot at the beginning of the episode, is then pushed to the limit when it actually comes to a one-on-one with Dean. And it is that moment where Castiel has Dean at his whim in Mercy to kill him. That was when I was like, hey, this show can be good again. This episode is actually directed by Thomas J. Wright, who has like two episodes before this. One being repo man from season seven, Sam and Lucifer in his mind teamed up to take down the guy who wanted to be repossessed by that demon, and then he also did Bitten. One for two. This episode does a lot of things right by establishing a really good mystery at the very beginning with these tunnels and these holes being dug, people winding up dead in the means of an angel burning the body out of them, and then there's also just whatever is going on with Castiel, Meg coming in, being a fantastic addition. I'm too little short for a stormtrooper. Her and Castiel having a really good, reminiscent conversation, and then the editing. The editing is spot on, while maybe the choreography and the cinematography in some of the scenes is not as strong as it could have been, not definitely on swan song level. The cuts back and forth between Castiel in the real world and then up in heaven with Naomi and the transitions of it. It's not just like simple cut back and forth. Castiel is doing motions from one into the other and back again, and he was so well done. And you actually had some fear for the characters. And some of it was well warranted when how the episode comes to an end with Meg getting killed by Crowley. That was a heartbreaking death for that character. It sucked. And she didn't get to say goodbye to her unicorn, her Clarence. That death hurt to watch. And I knew it was coming. I kept waiting for that one to come because Rachel Minor was always so good in this show. You hit a dog and stopped, why? That whole story. And that's your takeaway? No, I heard the rest. You fell in love with the unicorn. It was beautiful, then sad, then sadder. I laughed. I cried. I'm cute in my mouth a little. And honestly, I kind of get it. She was phenomenal. And to see her character go out, fighting a losing battle was still a great end for her character. For a demon that started off in season one and was able to do this turnaround to make you actually like them, that was a pretty good character art. Robbie Thomas wrote the episode and the dialogue is really sharp and really smart. And it keeps you interested both with the conflicts of all the characters and with the mystery and what is actually the angle of it. The characters are finally coming together in terms of acknowledging their faults. Sam is willing to admit what's going on with him. Dean is, I might not be able to carry this burden, but I can carry you. Yes, he absolutely does rip off Lord of the Rings. And I love that they make a reference to that. Listen, I might not be able to carry the burden that comes along with these trials, but I can carry you. You realize you kind of just quoted Lord of the Rings, right? Come on, man. But it's the Rudy Hobbit, right? Rudy Hobbit always gets a pass. And we have a licensed song, everyone. We have a licensed song with Goodbye Stranger. Such a good end to the episode. If I do have one fault, it is when Dean is getting the shit kicked out of him by Castiel. I don't know why, but just seemed a little bit... I don't know if it was just how Dean's kind of just like this. I kind of understand he's getting the shit kicked out of him. But it really did remind me a bit of what the choreography was when God beat the shit out of those two in the last episode of season 15. And I felt like it could have been maybe choreographed just a tad bit better. But that's kind of my only complaint. It does not make it a perfect episode to me, but the editing, the writing, and the story overall, and the character interactions and the moments between them, this is what made me like Supernatural again. This whole episode turned me around. And considering we had just had one of the most boring episodes of a whole show in a while, it was very, very good to have something like this again. So while I would love to give this episode a perfect rating, I cannot because it just doesn't reach that level, but I will happily give Goodbye Stranger a 6 out of 7. Oh man guys, this is the best episode of the season so far. Hands down, this is the best one. I won't lie, it's not looking good in the projections in terms of how the episodes are going, so it's good to have a positive one for once. But those are my thoughts about this episode, let's see what you guys have to say. Goodbye Stranger is one of my favorite episodes of the season because seeing Castiel as an antagonist is something I enjoy seeing besides this episode. It's also great for Crowley as a villain, and there are other great moments like Meg's death and Castiel almost killing Dean and them regaining consciousness like his will. Good, great episode. This episode is truly remarkable. The opening scene took me by surprise and I can imagine how Jeremy must have felt realizing that he was watching that episode. Yeah, quite a bit, which brought him back from the brink of quitting the show. Moving on, the brothers engage in their usual investigation only to find themselves in a thrilling confrontation with a few of Crowley's underlings. Just in the nick of time, Cast comes to Sam's rescue, saving him from one of Crowley's henchmen. After interrogating one of the demons, we are surprised to see the return of Meg get returned at the hotel. An interaction between her and Cast is a particular highlight that I thoroughly enjoyed. It is actually, it's probably one of my favorite moments of the episode. It's unfortunate that she meets her demise later in the episode. Nevertheless, the pinnacle of the episode arrives when Castiel falls victim to Nairobi's manipulation, compelled to eliminate Dean. Great scene. There's so much to talk about, goodbye stranger. It's story driven with so many individual character moments. Meg's back. Always a treat to see Rachel on screen. She's both great and with the one-liner quips. Hi, I'm Meg. I'm a demon. I will say she was really good. Like, I liked the lady who did her before. That was a really, you know, very menacing, very kind of deep and dark performance, but Rachel did sass so well. We're seeing with Sam about understanding what he wants is amazing to watch. I love season eight Crowley. He's fantastically evil yet charming. It's easy to see how he became the king of hell. We find out the reason Naomi has been controlling Cast. That opening sequence opens the episode with a bang, and the rest of the episode lives up to that promise of that opening. Cast has a great, some great snark here. Adorable Cast is fun. Snarky Cast is better. Cast and Dean are is epic. Well, I knew Cast wouldn't kill Dean. The way it shot with the quick cuts between the cribbed and the heaven, it didn't put me on the edge. So there are parts of me that maybe thought he would. I'll agree actually. Well, I thought the choreography was kind of, the cutting back and forth was really well done. And then for the clincher, we're family. I need you. We know they have a profound bond. Dean's never said it. For him, family is the ultimate bond. And Cast is part of his family. You know, though it's bleat, it's enough to break the hold Naomi has on Cast. Great stuff. Goodbye strangers. My second favorite episode of the season. The plot you have as you engage beginning to end. And I love to see Crowley as the big bad this season. Cast sales are being controlled by Naomi to me comes as a satisfying close. And just when Megan Cast sales relationship is growing, she is mercilessly and unceremoniously killed off for a while. I was bitter about it and retrospect. It was done because the writers love the actress and didn't want someone else betraying me. Yes, yeah, this was something I was kind of, I was fairly, fairly certain of, but I won't, I'm like, you're confirming it here. The real life actress suffers from mass. And it's awesome. The writers didn't want to replace her. I love how much Meg understood that. Actually, that's why like she came back in the finale, but she's sitting in a chair because that was all she could do. I love how Meg understood Sam for his choice to not look for Dean during his time in Purgatory and settle being with Amelia. Another fun fact is that at Comic-Con adjacent panel, Jensen explains that when Castiel was about to deliver the killing load of Dean, the original line does cast you once I love you and Jensen requested to change it to I need you. His reasoning was he never told anyone else on the show. I love you. It has nothing to do with him hating on the concept of destiny. I don't know. I think they held that care for as long as they could over, but they never wanted to commit to it. Overall, the episode had the right amount of drama and action and led to interesting curiosity what Castiel would do to run away from everything to protect the angel tablet. Goodbye Stranger is the best episode of the season. Wow. The scene between Castiel and Dean was well done. I like when Castiel would go between heaven and punching Dean. Interesting because most people say sacrifice is the best episode of the season. Probably find Naomi more interesting as a villain if there's more things to do with her in this episode, but she has a strange implied relationship with Crowley. Speaking of weird relationships, someone really took that pizza man scene to heart and wanted to run with it. I mean, he was kind of cute in a really odd way. Not that it matters anymore. Also, isn't my crazier is that that random man at the hotel being chased look a lot like Manitron. I couldn't tell you. But yeah, no, I really wanted to know more about Naomi and Crowley's past considering Crowley keeps talking about it. I really enjoyed how this episode managed to focus on the characters that the opening scene was truly shocking to me the first time I watched it. You can tell how deep Castiel was under Naomi's control. I really enjoyed seeing Castiel Dean Sam team up with Meg once more or one last time, and I like the scenes between Meg and Castiel. She's spot on and how crazy things have changed since the apocalypse. Her being good and him being bad. Misha and Rachel really had good chemistry in her conversation with Sam. It was nice seeing him talk to someone about what he's been through the last year. I really didn't miss Rachel on the show, and it was sad to see her go. She really made the character of Meg her own. I wouldn't be surprised that Castiel was able to break from Naomi's control. Thanks to Dean. He's right. Castiel is family. Absolutely. Fantastic episode. The best episode, the best moment in the episode was when Castiel was brainwashed by Naomi to kill Dean. Some fans believe that Castiel family belong with Dean is what broke the brainwashing. However, if you pay close attention, you'll notice that he didn't have the urge to continue beating Dean up after picking the Angel Tava, which is why he disappeared from Naomi. He was in the room. Yeah, it kind of breaks the bowl, right? Like it breaks that bond or that control that she has on him. And then the last one here, this is the episode was great and everything with Dean and Castiel was heartbreaking and wonderful. But a lot of fans overlook the importance of Sam and Meg's talks. Again, a very good point of this episode. This is the first time this season Sam has had someone to talk to about his year away from hunting and was able to vent about things. Dean has had Garth and Charlie, but until now Sam has had really no one to talk to. Don't get me wrong. I hated the whole Amelia relationship and I'm tired of Sam being moody about it. But this does highlight how alone Sam has truly been. For example, one of the many reasons I didn't like the Amelia ship is Sam could never be as honest with her. He had to censor what he said so he could never share his true feelings or experiences. Whereas with Dean, though, he wasn't he was fighting for his family and had Benny who could be he could be honest with. It all just shows how Sam had been lacking in the friends department. I mean, yeah, you could say that Jody, but she's a wall this season. We don't see actually, you're right. Where the hell is Jody been? We still don't see Sam and Kevin being besties. Nope. And let's face it at this point in the show. Cast is more of Dean's friend as evidently by the lack of fake Sam corpses at the start. Yeah, I didn't mind the Amelia thing. But yeah, I think that's maybe why he was so into it. You make good point. Sam didn't have anyone to talk to. No Hunter friend. No anyone. He had absolutely no one to talk to about it. Okay guys, that's it for this episode. Now we're moving on to Freaks and Geeks. This is when a hunter has been training Chrissy and other kids to be hunters. Chrissy Chambers. Why do I not remember that name? And I feel like I should. Give me guys thoughts about that episode in the comments below and I'll read this off in the next review. Anyways guys, it was really good to talk about this episode again. It's been ages since I watched it and it was still pretty much as good as I remember it being. So very happy for that. Anyways, hope you liked the review. If you did, leave a like. And if you're interested in more, subscribe. And until then, see you guys next week.