In Review: Supernatural, Episode 287 “Lost and Found”

For fans, this was Heaven, but for newbies this was probably confusing.

Supernatural, Episode 287 “Lost and Found” Broadcast on October 12, 2017

Season 13 Premiere

Written by Andrew Dabb

Directed by Phil Sgriccia

The Road So Far: Mary Winchester returned to the living at the beginning of last season, Lucifer is also back on Earth, the devil gets Kelly Kline pregnant, Castiel decides to care for Kelly so the child won’t grow up evil, Crowley commits suicide to give Sam and Dean a chance to beat Lucifer, Castiel is killed by Lucifer, Lucifer and Mary tumble into the pocket dimension — trapped, the son of Lucifer is born, Kelly dies during childbirth, and after being born, the child becomes a teen.

Now: Sam runs into the room to discover naked Jack in a corner with glowing orange eyes. Seeing Sam, Jack asks, “Father?” Outside, Dean is over Castiel’s body, angry and upset. He pulls his pistol and heads into the house. Once inside and seeing the teen with unholy eyes, he takes a shot at Jack and misses. Infuriated, the nephilim screams. The Winchester brothers are paralyzed, lifted off the ground, and slammed into the wall. They are knocked unconscious and Jack smiles ominously. Cue opening title card resembling one of Jack’s eyes.

This was a good follow up to Season 12’s finale, though even with the “Road So Far” at the beginning, I don’t know how much new fans could really glean out of this episode if this was the first encounter with the Winchesters. After the title card, there’s a neat flashback moment that goes horribly wrong. The brothers are really at the opposite ends of the spectrum on what to do with Jack. Sam thinks he’s fine, while Dean wants to kill him. Both of their arguments are valid and it’s only in the last ten minutes of the episode is a decision reached. Jensen Ackles has a really good monologue toward the end of the episode that has Dean doing something he never thought he would do. Ackles carries off the heavy scene exceedingly well. Jared Padelecki doesn’t get a solo scene in this episode, playing off Ackles or Alexander Calvert as Jack.

Calvert does a great job as Jack. He starts the episode as Hell on Earth, but as the story progresses doubt forms in the viewer’s mind if he’s really the dark angel Dean believes him to be. Calvert’s smile is wonderfully demonic, but when he’s lost in a quandary or is stunned by something occurring he’s believable human. The viewer won’t know which side he’ll fall on until the Winchesters make their decision. There are three other actors who stand out in this episode. Andrea Menard as Sheriff Christine Barker shows the Supernatural writing staff, here by Andrew Dabb, creating another outstanding female law enforcer. She’s not written, nor played, for laughs, and she’s the voice of reality until things head south. I would love to see her reappear. Her son, Clark, played by Rob Raco, is played for laughs, coming off as a modern day Beavis or Butthead. Considering what he’s doing when he first appears, he’s the latter. He was really a one-note character that didn’t do anything but provide a sounding board momentarily for Jack. I’m hoping the character doesn’t return. A drunk in Clark’s fast food restaurant is Miriam, played by Carlena Britch. Her opening scene was funny and she changes considerably as the episode progressed. She was great. Samantha Smith and Mark Pelligrino get the last three minutes of the show to tease their tale isn’t completed, while Misha Collins got paid to lay on the ground and a table. Hey, it’s good work if you can get it.

There were two very neat shots from director Phil Sgriccia. The first took place as Sam and Dean were tearing down the highway to find Jack. Sgriccia has the camera move around Baby with the viewer seeing and hearing the brothers fight about what to do with Lucifer’s child. It was pretty cool. The second was when Sheriff Barker was walking down a hallway as the lights were flickering. Great building of tension that lead to a great reveal. The two fight sequences were also very cool. The story by Dabb nicely split the brothers up at the Sheriff’s Station, with Sam trying to get intel while being ultra polite and Dean being Mr. Honesty.

The Good: The story, the direction, Ackles’s monologue, Jack being a questionable character, Calvert’s acting, Britch’s acting, a great name for a seafood fast food restaurant, and a creative use of the word butt.

Fun Lines: “Father?”, “Around here, I’m untouchable,” “How naked?”, “Boo! Fries!”, “Whoa, what happened to your hand?”, “I like it,” “Too late,” and “I’m fine.”

The Bad: The story not being compact enough for new viewers, Clark Barker, no Crowley, dead Castiel, and Mary and Lucifer getting very little time.

The final line: I enjoyed this, but I’ve seen every episode. For fans, this was Heaven, but for newbies this was probably confusing. The direction was top notch, the script has a lot of characters to cover and did it’s best, though there was too much Clark. I’m looking forward to this season and what happens with Jack and I’m casting my vote for the return of Sheriff Barker now! Overall grade: B+

Patrick Hayes was a contributor to the Comic Buyer's Guide for several years with "It's Bound to Happen!" and he's reviewed comics for TrekWeb and TrekCore. He's taught 8th graders English for 20 years and has taught high school English for five years and counting. He reads everything as often as he can, when not grading papers or looking up Star Trek, Star Wars, or Indiana Jones items online.
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