'Supernatural' Season 15 Episode 14: Mrs Butters highlights weaknesses of Team Free Will before the Big Fight
Besides the fun and good times on 'Last Holiday', there was some ground-laying for the six episodes to follow. Through this whole episode, Sam and Dean worried about Jack's mental health. At the start of the episode, we learn that Jack hasn't really left his room since he came back to the bunker with his soul restored. The guilt of killing Mary is finally kicking in and he seems lost. This is exactly why when Mrs Butters, the wood nymph, shows up and brightens up the bunker and gives him speeches about "second chances", he responds.
Dean thinks he just needs time and space, which is typical, coming from him. But what Jack really needed was a neutral party (who he hadn't hurt when he was soulless) to talk to about what he was going through. Unfortunately, Mrs Butters thought of him as a monster and calls him that several times, after she has weakened him with all her delicious smoothies. You can see Jack's face scrunch up in remorse and guilt when she calls him a monster.
His mental vulnerability is a big weakness since he is the only powered-up weapon that Team Free Will possesses that can even hope to rival the power that God and Amara wield. Jack reflects on this vulnerability, talking about how easily he was made weak and powerless by being "stupid". And while he criticizes only himself, he should be criticizing Sam and Dean too, who let their defenses down around Mrs Butters so easily after a few home-cooked meals and a little pampering.
Can Team Free Will really afford to be this naive with the Big Fight with God/Chuck in front of them? Chuck knows their triggers and how their sense of family can be used against them. We already know Jake Abel, the 'lost' Winchester boy, is going to show up toward the end. Sam and Dean will be particularly vulnerable to him if he is used as a pawn by God. In short, while it is hard to hurt Team Free Will through sheer brute force, especially if they see it coming, they are particularly susceptible to kindness and emotional manipulation.
Mrs Butters is a wood nymph. While she might have killed 200 people in one blast in her heyday and can rip off heads like cabbage, she is no God. Yet, Sam, Dean and Jack could do nothing against her or her magic. They had to rely on their words' persuasive power to convince her that Jack was going to "save the world". But all indications in this episode point to the fact that Jack is not ready. In fact, his instability might have him flipping a switch and going rogue when the fight really heats up -- which will make him a liability rather than an asset.
Add to that, unlike recent seasons before this, where Sam and Dean only had powered up allies like Jack, Castiel, or Rowena -- this time they have a civilian -- Aileen. We have a brief mention of Sam going on a date with her, which means things are getting serious. Again, as much as viewers are rooting for them, Aileen represents another person God can target to get them to stand down. Team Free Will is not at its strongest and even with Castiel, things are going to get quite hairy in the upcoming episodes.
'Supernatural' Season 15 Episode 15 will air on Thursday, October 15, on The CW.
