I can only imagine that this episode has such a high rating here because Ackles does manage to turn in one of his best performances of the later seasons. Likewise, Smith is also really good in this episode. But I find the plot of this episode an overblown bore and I don't think the emotional material coheres all that well with prior text.
Dean's resentment of and anger at Mary is barely set-up; most of the set-up is in season 12 around Mary leaving and/or working with the BMOL. But this episode drags up ancient family history and re-contextualizes Dean's daddy issues as mommy issues. This weakens Dean's characterization instead of making it richer; moreover, Dean/writers are exceptionally harsh on Mary and it strikes me as unfair.
Worst of all is the exact words on the page are *terrible* in that the entire central emotional scene is written with Dean verbalizing exactly what he is feeling. This is not good writing-subtext should be a thing!-but it is even worse with Dean because he has always bottled up for more than 11 years.
The episode emotional involvement is cheap and manipulative.
Dean's resentment of and anger at Mary is barely set-up; most of the set-up is in season 12 around Mary leaving and/or working with the BMOL. But this episode drags up ancient family history and re-contextualizes Dean's daddy issues as mommy issues. This weakens Dean's characterization instead of making it richer; moreover, Dean/writers are exceptionally harsh on Mary and it strikes me as unfair.
Worst of all is the exact words on the page are *terrible* in that the entire central emotional scene is written with Dean verbalizing exactly what he is feeling. This is not good writing-subtext should be a thing!-but it is even worse with Dean because he has always bottled up for more than 11 years.
The episode emotional involvement is cheap and manipulative.