I am aware that there has been a decline as there is with any show that has been on as long as Supernatural has but I didn't notice the effect it had on me until the last episode. For years I was watching episodes of Supernatural whenever I could get my hands on them, sometimes waking up at the crack of dawn to put myself in a state of awe before going to school/college/university/work. Yes, I've been watching that long. I've had a longer and more loving relationship with Supernatural than I've had with living beings and I didn't regret it. In the last couple of years I seem to be watching the show at a delay which I didn't have a problem with, I wasn't getting angsty waiting for my fix, I was just carrying on with life and watching the next episode when I could.
Then the last episode happened. "Don't call me Shurley" marked the return of Chuck Shurley (Rob Benedict). Also known as Carver Edlund. Also known as God. The person I will refer to as Chuck Shurley initially entered the show in the season four episode "The Monster at the End of This Book" as a writer chronicling Sam and Deans lives in a cult book series titled 'Supernatural'. He is then revealed to not only be a writer but also a prophet of the Lord sent to aid Sam and Dean on their quest to stop the impending apocalypse. Rob Benedict was brilliant at portraying the troubled man with dreams of Sam and Dean that haunt him both day and night, but he's also an incredibly humorous character. It is later revealed that he is God and has seemingly abandoned the universe he built, either hoping they will learn to fend for themselves or not caring either way.
Chuck was always a great character, he gave the show meta moments which a lot of shows wouldn't have been able to pull off but Supernatural did. Supernatural has survived its 11 year run due to it's rabid fan base and through Chuck the show was able to involve them and refer to them in a loving manner. Chuck also enabled the writers to make apologies for any aspects of the show that the fans did not like, a prime example being his regret over writing "Bugs" which makes me giggle every time he references it. I understand that the writers are there to write a coherent story and shouldn't be distracted too much by what fans are saying but fans have some sort of owner ship over a cult show like Supernatural, if it wasn't for them then the show would have been swiftly cancelled. Chuck was the right way to go with this so the inside jokes and has been sorely missed since the (sort of) reveal in "Swan Song".
Chuck made a cameo at the end of the shows 200th episode "fan fiction", watching a high school adaptation of his novel before his proper return last week, other than this we hadn't seem him since 2010. I was shocked when looking up dates of his appearances because it really doesn't feel like it's been that long, it feels like only yesterday we saw him introduced as the writer of the Winchester Gospel, but in reality it's been just over seven years. That shows the strength of the character, I may not have seen much of him but he is ever present in my mind. His return last week shows him turning his hand at writing once again, this time enlisting the help of Metatron (Curtis Armstrong), the old scribe of God and a brilliant character in his own right. The result was wonderful.
In the fictional universe of the show the two characters had a friendship that had gone on for millenniums and Metatron was one of the few Angels to have ever interacted with Chuck until Chuck abandoned his post. With Chuck's abdication Metatron made a power play, becoming all powerful which lead to him expelling all the Angels from heaven and thoroughly becoming a thorn in the Winchester brothers sides. Although we've never seen the two interact on screen before they had exceptional chemistry and their relationship seemed believable, Metatron was fearful, remorseful and wanted to appease him but he was honest which is probably why Chuck wanted Metatron's help.
In "Don't Call Me Shurley" Chuck has decided to write his memoirs which he is saying will be eye opening revelations but is holding back on the most important information. Information is exactly what this season needs as the big bad this year is The Darkness, who happens to be Chucks sister, and a being that there is no pre-existing lore on. After much berating Metatron manages to pull the information out of him and Chuck eventually reveals his and The Darkness' pasts as well as his feelings. It was a wonderful and Supernatural-esque way of revealing the information, with essentially a two-hander but not involving any of the regular cast, yet it was still absolutely intriguing. In the moments we joined Sam and Dean on their adventures I actually wanted to cut away, back to Chuck and Metatron. Their scenes together were both light hearted and highly emotional and Chuck was again used to show the audiences viewpoints regarding recent events, specifically being critical of the Winchesters and Castiel for unleashing the Darkness to save each other. It was refreshing to have him back and saying what the audience is feeling.
This is the first episode I've watched in a while that has left me needing the next episode this badly, we've gotten to know Chuck after first being introduced to him seven years ago and he has rejoined the brothers in their mission to fight The Darkness. He's an all powerful presence and signals a game changer for the show, making them more evenly matched therefore making the show a hell of a lot more interesting than it has been. It also means we'll have Chuck around for a while longer and Metatron has redeemed himself in my eyes by owning up to his idiocy so I hope he'll be back soon as well so we can watch them bromance.
"All hail the prophet Chuck!"
Live Long and Blog!
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