‘Supernatural’ 13x20: ‘Unfinished Business’ beloved character becomes traitor + Gabriel vs Loki

“Supernatural” season 13 episode 20 has turned one of the good guys into a traitor. “Unfinished Business,” directed by Richard Speight Jr, also saw archangel Gabriel (guest star Richard Speight Jr) squaring off with the real Loki (also Richard Speight Jr).

“Supernatural” 13x20 aired on Thursday on The CW in the US. It will air in Australia on Monday on Eleven. The following recaps and reviews the episode, and therefore also contains spoilers.

Gabriel, wounded after killing the Norse god Fenrir, came to Sam and Dean Winchester (Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles) to see if they had some of his archangel grace left so he could recover. As the brothers already used the last one to open a rift, they couldn’t help him. They also wanted his archangel grace to open another rift to the Apocalypse World, but Gabriel still needed time to replenish his grace.

Fenrir’s brothers, Narfi (guest star Michael Adamthwaite) and Sleipnir (Fletcher Donovan), then came to attack Gabriel, who was still weak from the wound he obtained earlier. Gabriel was able to kill Narfi before Sleipnir ran off. He told the Winchesters that the brothers and their father, Loki, were on his kill list. The brothers sold him out to Asmodeus, which started his seven years of torture.

Sam, and a reluctant Dean, agreed to help him exact his revenge if he would help them with their fight against alternate world Michael. Later on, Gabriel, with Sam and Dean’s help, was able to kill Sleipnir. Dean slipped away to kill Loki himself using the wooden sword that was meant for the deity.

Loki explained that he was furious with Gabriel because after he helped the archangel hide from his warring brothers (by assuming Loki’s identity, thus they had the same face), Gabriel did not abide by his only condition, which was to stay out of his brothers’ warpath. In season 5’s “Hammer of the Gods,” Gabriel ultimately helped Sam and Dean get out of the mess they were in, giving them a porn video starring himself to tell them how to defeat Lucifer (Mark Pellegrino). Gabriel’s interference inadvertently had the gods of different faiths killed by Lucifer, including Loki’s dad, Odin.

And although Odin hated Loki, the Trickster said he was still family. He blamed Gabriel for his father’s death.

Dean couldn’t defeat Loki, so he slid the wooden sword to Gabriel during their fight. After killing Loki, Gabriel agreed to help the brothers. In the last scene, it was mentioned he was recuperating his grace with Castiel (Misha Collins, who isn’t in the episode).

Sam confronted Dean on why he wanted to act solo recently. Dean admitted that he just wanted to protect Sam, because the last time they were heading for the apocalypse, Sam was thrown to the cage. Sam said whatever should happen, they would do everything together, even die together.

Apocalypse World Kevin Tran

With the Nephilim Jack (Alexander Calvert) by their side, Mary Winchester (Samantha Smith) and a few survivors had won against a few angel battles. Jack had grown confident of himself, especially when he heard archangel Michael had left. Mary warned her it could just be a trap, but Jack insisted they had to go to the angels’ headquarter. There they found Kevin Tran (Osric Chau), a prophet who was helping Michael decipher the angel tablet.

Kevin was branded a traitor to his own kind, but he explained that he had no choice after his mum and all his loved ones were killed. Mary asked Jack to wait for one day so Bobby could re-join them. Jack, confident that he could beat Michael, told Mary he couldn’t wait anymore. He would go where Michael and the angels were to confront them.

That’s when Kevin revealed that he was left behind by the angels to act as a bomb and kill everyone. He said that that’s the only way Michael would permit him to enter heaven, and he wanted to enter heaven to see his mum. Michael knew Jack wouldn’t get killed, but he wanted him broken. When Kevin set detonated himself, he killed everyone but Jack and Mary, whom Jack protected with his wings. And just like what Michael wanted, the blast left Jack’s spirit broken.

‘Supernatural’ 13x20 ‘Unfinished Business’ review

It doesn’t really make sense that Castiel wasn’t on an episode that required him to be on. They made it work somehow, or at least forced it to work, but the show shouldn’t cut Castiel’s appearances to the bare minimum. And after last week’s episode, Castiel could have been a more compelling force for Gabriel to help out.

Kevin becoming a traitor wasn’t far-fetched. After all, if not for the Winchesters and the pursuit of the demons, he wouldn’t have taken his role as a prophet seriously and with dignity. Even as a conflicted young man, he was hard to hate, probably because fans knew Kevin’s heroism in the real world. Still, it was a sad day to see one of the most beloved and smartest characters in “Supernatural” join the dark side.

On a side note, it’s refreshing to see the rather effeminate brother, Sleipnir, had a female porn star by his side, while his burlier brother Narfi had a male porn star flirting with him. It’s unexpected and it’s rather embracing gender nonconformity.

Hats off to Speight Jr in this episode, in which he played a triple role: as an actor for two characters and as a director. The episode, written by Meredith Glynn, had multiple references to the film “Kill Bill.” Gabriel’s death list was similar to Uma Thurman’s character’s. The fight scenes were also reminiscent of the film series. Overall, it is an enjoyable and well-thought-out episode.