As season 1 of The Winchesters starts coming to a close, the odds are stacked against John, Mary and the rest of the gang as the Akrida continue to wreak havoc on their lives. With only two episodes left, it’s hard to tell how the gang will pull off a victory and save the world, especially now that John and Mary are on the run and separated from the rest of their crew.
John’s criminal past reared its head full-force this week and has come back to haunt him in the wake of Kyle’s death, unsurprisingly so, since there’s been multiple references throughout season 1 of John having gotten into trouble before shipping off to the Vietnam War.
While in holding, the possessed officer rattled off a few of John’s former charges, including assault, disorderly conduct and vandalism, so clearly John’s penchant for violence started long before he entered the world of hunting. Betty’s looming presence has served as a reminder that John’s crimes haven’t been forgotten, and it’s quite common for the Winchesters to have run-ins with the justice system.
Sam and Dean spent many seasons dodging cops and avoiding jail time, a habit they’ve obviously picked up from their father. There’s definitely some early Supernatural nostalgia now that John is officially a fugitive on the run, reminiscent of Sam and Dean’s cat and mouse game with Victor Henriksen.
Henriksen eventually came around once he learned the truth about Sam and Dean, and John’s ex Betty is the new inside woman for The Winchesters now that she knows the truth about monsters. Betty proved she can hold her own while fighting with Mary outside the police station, and although she asked not to be involved with John and Mary while they’re on the run, Betty could be a valuable asset for them in their battle against the Akrida.
As John struggled to escape the legal system, Lata was dealing with her own struggles and fans finally got some answers to questions that have been left unanswered since the very beginning. Episode 11 was a major blast to the past for Lata, focusing very heavily on her familial trauma and the secrets she’s been keeping from her friends.
Lata broke down in tears while she unveiled her darkest secret to Carlos, showing viewers a much different side of the typically calm and collected brainiac. Nida Kurshid’s performance shouldn’t go unnoticed because the actress delivered a heartbreaking job-well-done and was the shining star of the week.
Not only were the curtains pulled back on Lata’s relationship with her parents and her guilt over Sania’s death, episode 11 showed off some more layers to the relationship she had with Mary’s cousin, Maggie. Mary and Lata have had many conversations about how much Maggie meant to them, so even though Maggie’s dead, it’s nice to see that her character still plays a part in telling their story.
Audiences learned this week that Lata shared secrets with Maggie when she was afraid to talk to the other hunters, a small detail that proved just how close the two once were. Finding ways to keep integrating Maggie into Lata’s journey and getting glimpses into their relationship has been a great way for audiences to continue connecting with Lata as she wrestles with the demons of her childhood.
Now that Maggie is gone, it’s obvious Lata has started turning to Carlos to be her confidant. She admitted she doesn’t want life-threatening danger to be the only reason she shares her secrets with him, and their bond has been steadily growing in every episode.
In a show that’s meant to be about John and Mary’s romantic evolution, Carlos and Lata’s friendship is a fantastic juxtaposition, especially because they’re both characters SPN fans haven’t met before. Carlos and Lata are incredibly dynamic characters with plenty of well-deserved screen time, and with every development in John and Mary’s story, fans can count on there being one for Carlos and Lata too.
As of right now, the only major question left is how Dean Winchester wound up in the ‘70s. John and Mary resolve to find him and get some answers at the end of the episode, now that they know Dean isn’t from their world.
John told the Akrida he knows they can’t be harmed by anything of their world, which is how he came to the conclusion Dean is from somewhere else. Whether that means he’s from another time or from another universe altogether is still up in the air, although the idea of a Supernatural multiverse would explain the canonical discrepancies The Winchesters creates.
Supernatural fans are anxiously waiting to see how Jensen Ackles will be involved in the rest of the story, which has been an unexpectedly great ride since the beginning and episode 11 is definitely another solid installment in the Winchester story.