Episode 20 of “Supernatural” was initially met with some skepticism from fans and critics, as people weren’t too excited for the subplot of Claire Novak and her adventures together with Castiel. Among the problems that were pointed out was the overall attitude of Claire towards Castiel and the negativity that surrounded their interactions, which some attributed to the age of Claire’s actress. However, the airing of the episode went through surprisingly smoothly, and most were apparently actually surprised with how it turned out.
The episode showed various parts of Claire’s personality that weren’t explored in such detail before, and the ending of the episode showed Dean sitting amidst the bodies of Claire’s “friends” who had been killed. The episode was, in the end, quite a touching experience and moved the story forward in certain regards, pleasing many fans and giving them exactly what they had been hoping to see from this part of the plot in the first place.
Claire was actually given more screen time during the episode compared to her past appearances on the show, and she actually played an important role in the plot at some points. In the beginning, she was still angry as usual towards Castiel and Dean, and she also felt betrayed by her mother who had left her. However, the character’s motivations were explored in more detail during this episode, and she expressed a lot of her rage in a structured, understandable way, something which many fans saw as a positive development for her character.
Some pointed out that Dean made an obvious mistake when he decided to bring Claire along with him, but since Claire was looking for her mother in the first place, it was justified. They did manage to find Amelia pretty fast, and even though she ended up perishing at the hands of Tamiel, she at least got to have some touching moments with her daughter.
The scene with Amelia’s death was actually done in a pretty exciting, moving way, and many fans were commenting on that part of the episode very excitedly after it aired. We also got to see Claire undergoing some significant internal changes in her personality, and it’s looking very likely that she will have a “bright” future as a hunter ahead of her. Plus, she’s staying with Jody Mills, something which adds to that probability quite a lot.
Some fans were worried about the direction “Supernatural” was headed in with regards to the development of Claire, but it’s pretty clear that the writers know what they’re doing and they have a good idea for the character’s future. At this point, fans should likely be a bit more patient for her development to properly unfold.