‘Supernatural’ 13x09: ‘The Bad Place’ makes an exciting lead-in to ‘Wayward Sisters’

“Supernatural” season 13 episode 9 is a reminder why the show continues to be a strong force despite some mediocre episodes. The mid-season finale, titled “The Bad Place,” impressively showcases powers of gifted youth and the collective force of determined angels.

The following contains spoilers, recap and review of “Supernatural” 13x9. The episode aired Thursday on The CW in the US. Season 13 isn’t aired in Australia yet.

In an effort to bring back a win for the Winchesters, Jack (Alexander Calvert) visited an artist who could dream-walk. He was able to open doors to other worlds himself, but he could only feel, not see, and therefore he needed a seer. Unfortunately, Derek, the artist, wasn’t strong enough to take him to the alternate universe, but he directed him to someone stronger than him.

A few hours later, the artist was found dead with his eyes burnt out, making Jack a prime suspect. Jody Mills (Kim Rhodes) called Sam and Dean Winchester (Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles) to inform them of the nephilim’s sighting. Following leads, the brothers eventually got to a troubled youth, Kaia Nieves (Yadira Guevarra-Prip), who is also a dream walker.

Jack got to her first, though she was able to escape when he got distracted by Sam and Dean’s arrival. The Winchesters initially feared Jack wanted open the portal to get to his father, Lucifer (Mark Pellegrino), who, unbeknownst to them, is already in their world. Jack explained that he was looking for a way to enter the alternate universe so he could bring back their mum (Samantha Smith) to them. He showed them what he was able to see through Derek: Mary heavily shackled in the alternate universe. Dean finally believed that their mother was alive.

Angels are ruthless

In a bid to run away from the rehab and Jack, Kaia was instead kidnapped by two angels who wanted to use Jack to save their species. In what appears to be an unnecessary move, they admitted to her that they were the ones who killed Derek after they tortured him for information on where Jack would next go.

The nephilim and the Winchesters were able to save Kaia, but she did not want to go with them because she felt her gift was a curse. Dean, out of desperation to save their mother, pointed a gun at her, forcing her to come with them.

Jack successfully attempted to connect with her and show her the beauty of having powers. However, they were again surrounded by angels, who displayed incredible unity and prowess in bringing down the angel-warding sigils that protected the humans and nephilim in an abandoned ship.

Before they could completely erase the sigils, though, Kaia helped Jack be transported into the alternate universe, depositing him right by Mary’s feet. The angels were annihilated, Kaia woke up on the side of a road, and Sam and Dean were abandoned in an unknown place, which appeared to be inhabited by dinosaurs.

Patience and Jody

Meanwhile, Patience Turner (Clark Backo) left her home to go to Jody after receiving a dark vision, which contained snippets from the alternate universe, Jody getting stabbed and the Winchesters being lost and confused. She admitted to her dad that her visions never went away, but this time she couldn’t ignore them because people’s lives were at stake.

‘Supernatural’ 13x9 ‘The Bad Place’ review

If fans aren’t excited yet for the upcoming backdoor pilot for “Wayward Sisters” and its subsequent full series, this episode would surely bring them on board. Patience’s return and Kaia’s introduction were masterfully handled in a way that would get people clamouring for more. And as always, Jody’s appearance, however brief, is welcome.

Jack’s quest to find and bring home Mary comes from his desire to get the Winchesters’ approval, which he got. It was a heart-warming feeling seeing the infant teen smile after hearing Dean praising him. It was equally as gratifying to hear him call the boys and Castiel (Misha Collins) his family, and Dean confirming that they were.

In a brief period of time, viewers have become witness to Jack’s small character development. He started as literally a day-old adult who was afraid of using his powers lest he turned out to be evil, to someone who could follow investigations alone and allay the fears of another scared and confused individual.

The episode was also packed with tear-jerking moments. Kaia’s words about not being important and no one’s going to look for her because she’s not blonde or white were a painful reality for many non-Caucasian individuals. She was someone whom society could easily write off, and so she seemed to have given up on a future for herself as well. But her gift, which she called a curse, could be just what might save other people.

“Supernatural” has been criticised for not including many people of colour in substantial roles. Kaia and Patience’s addition to the cast is a step in the right direction, even if it’s in a spin-off show rather than in “Supernatural” itself. Nevertheless, it wouldn’t hurt the show to cast more people in different backgrounds and races as prominent characters in the future.

Patience choosing to help people with her vision over her dad’s offer of a normal life was another touching scene. Unlike Claire Novak (Kathryn Newton) and Alex Jones (Katherine Ramdeen) and even Kaia, who are all also starring in the spin-off “Wayward Sisters,” she still has a loving and living parent who was trying to give her a normal, middle-class life. She had a choice. She could ignore her visions and still live a good life. But she chose to help other people, which could be her downfall in the end but definitely the nobler path to take.

When the show started, an angel was unbeatable by humans and demons alike. Now it appears they are equal in strength with Sam and Dean or any other trained humans. They are a very powerful species, but with how the show portrays them recently, it’s easy to forget that they are. The scene in which several angels brought their knives to the ground and attempted to erase the sigils off was at least an impressive sight. The show should feature more of that.

Other than a couple of mentions of his name, Castiel wasn’t referred to in the episode. It would be great if the show just drops the hapless Cas plot and just make him the unbeatable warrior that he really is. His being imprisoned right after being brought back to life was a cheap plot development. And now that Jack is in the alternate universe and Sam and Dean lost somewhere else, it would be his chance to be the saviour that he is and bring all of the Team Free Will 2.0 back together.

The episode is the mid-season finale and the last of the year before it resumes in January.