Supernatural : O Brother, Where Art Thou

Wow! This episode had everything I expected and a little extra. It’s the moment  we’ve all been waiting for since season five, the reunion of Lucifer and his former vessel.  I’m not very good at speculating about the direction of the plots on Supernatural, but I think I called something on this one, maybe.

This episode is also very  mythology heavy, so you have to have some background about past seasons to understand why  the fandom is shitting bricks right now. This episode was very intense for us. Lucifer hasn’t been seen since season five, so …deep breaths, deep breaths, everybody.

Amara spends the first half of the episode looking for God and trying to attract his attention. She visits a park preacher, and once she’s heard his spiel, she offers a counterproposal of: water turned to blood and strategic lightening strikes. This has the added benefit, besides ridding the world of obnoxious Christians,  of showing us what level of power we’re looking at, on Amara’s end.

Sam and Dean argue about Sam visiting Lucifer in the cage. Sam absolutely insists that God wants him to do it, since Lucifer was present at the Darkness’ timeout ceremony. He prays to God at the park and there’s a burning bush, so yeah! God, right? Uhmm, no!

They go  to Crowley to discuss their plan and he says they need Rowena, the slippery, little witch , who will surely find a way to turn this entire situation to her advantage, somehow. As soon as she hears they want to contact Lucy, she spends the rest of the episode fan-girling over him. It’s hilarious. It never occurred to me, since she is a dark witch, she essentially spends her life praying to Lucifer, and this would be the proper reaction for a witch to have. Rowena says she will need The Book of the Damned and the Codex. Of course, she  has to get in some snide comments, to Sam and Dean.

The Angels, feeling desperate, make plans to move on Amara. Where is Castiel during all of this?

Amara visits a church and slaughters the parishioners,  when she can’t get Gods attention, through prayer. She does make some highly astute, rationalist arguments, against religion in general, although I think it’s by accident that she sounds like an atheist.

The Winchesters lay out their plan to Rowena. While Dean investigates the massacre at the church, she comes up with a plan for Sam to speak to Lucifer without opening the cage. Sam tries to contact Dean to let him know the plan is in motion, but Dean has been distracted by Amara, who spirits him to a secluded meadow.

Sam, Crowley and Rowena go  the cage, where Rowena lays out some warding and Sam and Lucifer get to talking. I love Mark Pelligrino in this. Once again we get a different Lucifer than the one we met in season five. He’s a subtle blend of that version, and Sam’s Hallucifer, from season seven. He’s dark and serious, yet snarky and upbeat, too. The creepiest shot is our first glimpse of him as a dark silhouette with glowing red eyes.

Yeah, that’s not good.

Amara explains her purpose to Dean, and why she wants to return the universe to darkness. When he mentions the souls she devoured ,she does tell him that those people are not destroyed or dead. They’re still alive, just a part of her. I kind of thought as much. I had the impression she didn’t believe she was killing these people, but simply taking back  something that she considers hers, anyway. She tells Dean she wants to bring peace and bliss to the world. She tells Dean he’s bonded to her which makes Dean The Bride of Darkness, I guess.

Sam makes his proposal to Lucifer, who counters with his own. He wants Sam as a vessel again. Did we not say this was a horrible idea, as there’s absolutely no assurance that he’ll take down Amara? The funniest thing Lucifer says to Sam is, ” you passed certifiable, three off ramps ago,” for working with Crowley. Meanwhile, Rowena drools over Lucifer,  in the background. It all turns out to be a trap anyway, because when the wards fail, Sam finds himself in the cage, and  Lucy informs  Sam that he never got any messages from God. When the Darkness came, it opened some cracks in the cage. Lucy has been reaching out to Sam through the breaks in the walls and all the messages came from him. I kind of thought that, as I really doubted Sam’s assurance of Gods text messaging skills.

On the other hand, Lucifer is The Father of Lies, so  I kind of have to take what he says with a grain of salt, too. He could just be lying to Sam as another form of torture and Sam’s messages could be coming from a third party, like Metatron, for example. Lucy really lays it on thick to get Sam to agree to be his vessel again, though. The entire time I’m yelling at my TV, that this is an incredibly bad idea, and at Sam to say, Hell no!

And yeah, I think Rowena may have had something to do with the wards failing, because she would love for Lucifer to be free, and betrayal is her middle name.

Dean attempts to stab Amara with an angelic blade, which breaks. She  and Dean are accosted by a group of angels, that Amara has no trouble dispensing with, but killing them forces all the other angels to smite her. She removes Dean from danger, returning him to the park where she snatched him,  and the Angels lay down some righteous fury on her.

So, here’s where we are during the hiatus. Amara is in the middle of being smited…smitten?, Dean is bamboozled, but that’s less distressing than Sam being trapped in the cage with Lucifer again, and Dean not knowing about it.

Once again, I hate to speculate (but I will read the speculations of others) because things may not actually be as they seem. Sam may not actually be trapped in the cage and just because Amara says something doesn’t make it the truth, either. I consider her to be as reliable a narrator as Lucifer, which is to say, not at all. It’s possible she may not even be this season’s  Big Bad, if there is one. It could be Lucifer, God or someone we haven’t seen yet.

Well…

We have until January.

 

 

 

Supernatural : Just My Imagination

Boy, was I off base when I thought that last episode, with the clowns was going to be funny. I don’t want to make the same mistake here, but I’d like this episode to be funny. We need to lighten up a little bit before we have the season hiatus.

Okay, just for the record, when I hear this title, this is the song I will be hearing every single time, and now so will you. This is not a matter for debate.

 

Oh, I really liked this episode. I’m also a big fan of Richard Speight Jr., who directed this week’s episode and it shows. The flavor of this episode is very much in keeping with the gentle, but zany humor of Gabriel and Speight, as well.  And distinct in style from episodes directed by Jensen. It was absolutely darling and sweet and bitter and funny…it just brought all the feels. I think Sully is now one of my new favorite characters, not just for his clear devotion to Sam but because of his little pudgy body,  his fragility and compassion, but  also because he was willing to sacrifice his life for Sam, by owning up to what he’d done, thereby giving Sam an example to follow regarding his fear of The Cage and Lucifer. There’s even a tiny bit of Trickster in him too, although he’s  much, much nicer than Gabriel.

Aaahhh! I loved his suspenders (braces). I used to own a pair just like that when I was about  nine  years old, so it was fun and funny to see someone else wearing these. Its also a callback to the show Mork and Mindy. Mork was also a zany, cartoonish character, not unlike the  Zannas of this episode, or  Trickster Gabriel. (It feels like a distinctive Speight touch, too.)

A young girl named Maddie is having tea with her imaginary unicorn friend named Sparkles. After coming back from dinner with her parents she discovers that Sparkles has been horribly murdered.

Sam wakes up at the unholy hour of 6:30 in the morning. A person should be sound asleep at that hour but he’s up getting coffee. I love how this scene is shot,with the shadow of an ominous figure following Sam to the kitchen. Although once he gets to the kitchen,the viewer can see that the table is set with colorful junk foods. There’s some wonderful tension as we watch Sam wander back and forth waiting for him to notice that.

I think it’s sweet that Sully, having not seen Sam in so long still remembers all his favorite junk foods and the things they used to say to each other. At first only Sam can see Sully but Sully decides to let Dean in on the action, too. Dean is having some real trouble with the idea of imaginary friends and is acting pretty dickish towards Sully, although as the episode goes forward he starts to come around.

The brothers realize that since children are the only people who can see imaginary friends, called Zanna, in Romanian folklore, they can’t just ride up on the house like gangbusters and interrogate the family. This is a delicate situation, so thy’re going to have put on … their “little old man” sweaters. They both  look totes adorbs as they pretend to be counselors for Maddie, who refuses to sleep in her room.

Dean, still having trouble with the idea of “real” imaginary creatures, calls Sparkles a “manicorn”, which is even dumber than the “ghoulpire” thing he kept trying to invent in Baby. I have to admit, some of the funniest episodes, are the ones in which Dean just makes up words.

We see why Maddie wont go to her room, when the brothers investigate. The room is covered in blood and Sparkles dead body is still present. I’m feeling a tinge of sadness. Its tragic when unicorns die. Maddie’s mother, as well meaning as she is, is completely oblivious to the carnage and even manages to get Sparkle’s blood all over her face. The Winchesters, reluctant to alarm the mother as well, advise her to shower the entire family. I still don’t know how she’s going to get near Maddie, if her face is covered in blood only Maddie can see.

Simultaneously a young girl’s pool mermaid is murdered in her backyard.

Sam has a flashback to when he was about ten or so and begging Dean to ask John to let him go hunting. It seems Sam has always waffled back and forth about wanting the hunting life. Sully tries really hard to impart to Sam the idea that he doesn’t have to be a Hunter and can do anything he wants. These flashbacks aren’t just to show us what Sam was like as a child but to show us exactly what Sully’s job entails and the kind of Zanna he is.

Sully explains that imaginary people have a form of telepathy which each other, which is how he knows that Nicky the Mermaid is dead. While investigating the scene, Sully tells them she had a jealous boyfriend named Weems and that it would be wrong to leave her body in the pool, so they spend some time burying her  huge remains. Dean goes along with this, though he  was initially dismissive of her death, and doesn’t understand why Sam ever needed an imaginary friend.

Dean is still kind of a dick, though.

Before they can interrogate Weems, he is attacked and sends a telepathic signal to Sully. The Winchesters and Sully arrive to find Weems still alive and he confesses that he saw the shooter, didn’t know who she was, but she drove an old beat up  VW Bug. He does seem to know Sam though.  Dean wondering what it is that makes Weems so special as an imaginary friend, finds  that Weems can play a mean air guitar. I mean he is awesome at it! Dean is impressed, although he pretends he isn’t and goes off to find the VW.

While he’s gone, Sam and Sully talk about their bad breakup and..yeah, it was pretty bad. When Dean called Sam back to tell him he could go hunting with him and Dad after all, Sam is very happy to leave. Sully tries very hard to talk him out of going but Sam rejects him and sends him away. Sully says he considered Sam to be one of his  greatest  failures, because he couldn’t save him, even though he sort of worships Sam and considers Sam a hero for saving the world, which I thought was one of the sweetest things ever said. Sam usually gets vilified for the things he’s done.

Its interesting that supernatural creatures know and talk about the Winchesters and their deeds. The Winchesters are almost considered  mythical creatures themselves, and Sam looks mildly surprised and baffled by this.

They also talk about The Cage and The Darkness. Sam confesses that he made a mess, and that there may be some price for what he did. He confesses his terror about having to go back to The Cage and Sully is kind and supportive throughout,  (he genuinely cares about  Sam’s well being) and  later, he takes a cue from Sam, and shows by example what  should be done.

These conversations  between Sam and Sully are notable for another reason. At one point Sam (as a child) discusses running away with Sully, who mildly encourages this form of rebellion, but not explicitly. We do know that when Sam was a pre-teen he did run away and Dean spent several weeks looking for him. We have noted Sam’s tendency to run away from confrontation or drama, (as he is trying to do with The Cage decision) and when he sacrificed his life to save the world from the Apocalypse, was one of the few times we saw him tackle a problem head on. (Although to be fair, Sam has never had a problem running towards danger, its running away from personal issues that seem to be the  problem.)

Dean calls and says he’s found their killer. Naturally he was smacked over the head with something and then tied up. The two of them have been tied up so often, that breaking out of their bonds is a fairly routine occurrence, and generally of no remark. The many head-bashings they’ve received over the years might explain their bad decision making abilities.

It turns out the killer is the grownup sister of a young girl, that got killed by a car, while under Sully’s care. Her twin, Reese, blames Sully for her sister’s death and in revenge, she procured a spell and a special knife from a witch, so that she can make Sully pay for what he did. But its not just the death of her sister that is the problem. She is still in grief for the loss of her family because Sully, having committed a horrible mistake, ran away from it in fear, rather than help her cope with her pain. Too caught up in his own guilt and pain he forgot his purpose, which is to help children through theirs.

The irony is that if he’d stayed and helped her through her grief, he would maybe have alleviated the pain for both of them, and Reese might have become one of his greatest success stories, instead.

When Reese threatens to kill Sam, Sully, taking a cue from his hero, steps up to acknowledge the mistake he made and offer his life in exchange for Sam. Dean has not been blind to any of this. Having worked himself free of his bonds, he tells Reese that killing Sully is unnecessary and manages to talk her down.  it is clear she really doesn’t want to kill him and is in a lot of pain. She and Sully reconcile, but it’s too bad that Nicky ans Sparkles had to pay for a mistake he ran away from, so many years ago.

There’s definitely a  larger lesson in this episode for Sam and the entire season. Running away from one’s responsibilities or mistakes will cost you the one’s you love later. On the way home, having heard this message loud and clear,  Sam tells Dean he’s made a decision. He has to go back into the The Cage.

Next week: Sam  visits The Cage and has  a reunion with Lucy and I’m way too keyed up to  talk about that, in any coherent manner.

Supernatural: Plush

Ooh! Tonight’s episode stars one of my favorite characters, Sheriff Donna Hanscum. Seriously, I didn’t realize how much I’d like this character. (Of course that means something will eat her next season, because we rarely get more than two seasons, with female characters  we really like.)

At any rate this episode looks to be a funny one, with some insight into Sam’s visions, maybe:

Yeah, okay, this episode was not funny at all, outside of a couple of truly awful jokes from Sam and Dean. In fact, the episode was kinda terrifying and reminded me too much of Donnie Darko, a movie which scared the bejeebus out of me and I don’t scare easy. In fact, like Anya from Buffy, I kind of have a thing about bunnies, especially man-sized ones. hell, I hated Harvey.

Stan’s wife castigates him for not taking out the trash and he decides to badmouth the person who cooks his food. We’ve  been give the idea that Stan is an unsympathetic character, so when the guy in the plush bunny suit, stabs him to death in his living room, he gets no love from me.

Sam is praying again. Dean, walking past his open door, witnesses this and his next line is the funniest thing said all night,” Hey you want privacy, close the door.” He’s not wrong. What was Sam thinking? The door is just wide open.The two of them argue for a minute or two about counting on God to come through in the pinch, where Sam’s  visions are coming from and what to do about Amara. Crowley and Castiel are not mentioned and we don’t know where either of them are.

Donna calls,about her killer bunny case. Its not until they arrive that the brothers are told the specifics. The bunny is in custody but the outfit cannot be removed. Donna is delighted by Dean’s horrible puns. he seems to like Donna as much as the rest of us do, and so does her Deputy, Doug, who has a very obvious crush on her. I like it that nothing comes of that particular plot point. The writers just throw that in because Donna is on a journey and finding new love is part of her growth as a person, I guess.

Okay, did I say that  blood-covered, plush bunny is deeply, deeply creepy, just quietly sitting in the jail cell, like that?  Donna leaves. Sam makes horrible joke and Dean gives him pissy-face. Suddenly the bunny grabs Dean through the bars and they wrestle for a bit. Sam notices the guy in the suit has a tattoo of his girlfriends name.

Kylie says her boyfriend bought the costume at a shop and started acting weird as soon as he put it on. He stopped talking and walked out. Possession by bunny head, is what I’m guessing. This episode does not make me like bunnies any more than I did before.

Donna and Doug try to lift the tranquilized  bunny in the parking lot but he attacks them and Doug has to shoot him down.When he dies, the head rolls off. I kinda saw that coming, though.

Donna, Sam and Dean decide burning the bunny suit is their best move, because hey!its haunted.

A cold mist invades the  gym where a young athlete works out with his coach. When the coach goes back to his office, a harlequin masked figure picks up a kettle bell, and attacks the coach with it.

I’m assuming that’s called a kettle bell because I know nothing about weight-lifting equipment and I’m too lazy to look up images of kettle bells. So from now on, that’s what I’m calling it.

The coach lives but is in coma. Donna tells Doug it’s a copycat killer but Doug is smelling something fishy between all of them and ain’t buying it. The athlete says the masked figure was the school mascot and the mask wouldn’t come off. He also ells them about the room temp change, which indicated ghost activity.

Verdict: ghost possession of masks.

Supernatural — “Plush” — Image SN1107A_0156.jpg — Pictured: Jared Padalecki as Sam — Photo: Liane Hentscher/The CW — © 2015 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Back at the jail, Donna happens to have food salt on her but shooting the victim with rock salt instead, knocks the mask off the young  girl trapped under the costume, who  confesses that the coach was her PE  teacher, but that she didn’t dislike him enough to want to kill him.. The costume was donated, so the brothers  visit the person who made the donation.

The woman’s brother, Chester, a children’s performer, committed suicide, so she decided to donate all of his costumes around town.  So rounding up the costumes should get rid of  ghost.

Donna and Doug get to work..

A masked clown visits the coach in the hospital with a knife and cuts the coach’s  throat. He then gets int the elevator  with Sam who is too petrified to notice the bloody knife, I guess, until it attacks him. Dosing it with salt, Sam finds a confused, 70 year  old man.

Later Sam gives relationship advice when Donna gives Doug the cold shoulder, while Dean speaks to Stan’s widow. Her husband and the coach had accused Chester of molesting kids. Their vigilantism  led to  Chester’s suicide.

Dean goes back to Chester’s sister but she’s not home. His nephew is home and defends his uncle’s reputation.  The mother walks in angry and explains why she lied about the suicide. She explains that after the coach and Stan approached her with their accusations, she encouraged them to handle the situation themselves. Stan and the coach attacked Chester and dropped him in the river, while attempting to scare him. So! Vengeful ghost.

After her confession, her son Max, having put on the last costume that Chester was wearing, a deer’s head,  attacks the three of them. TSlat gets the mask off and Sam goes to burn it, but Chester’s ghost is busily attacking everyone. Sam finally gets that fire going just before Dean gets choked out.

Sam and Dan proclaim Donna a true Hunter and advise her to accept Doug’s attention, which she does.

On the way home, Sam speculates about his visions but Dean declares they’ve  got nothing to do with the cage and that’s it.

This episode was okay. it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great either. Mostly a monster of the week episode which was effective because people in giant furry costumes, with big, dead eyes,  are hella scary.

What made me think this episode was going to be funny?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supernatural : Baby

This was a highly enjoyable episode of Supernatural and will probably turn out to be one of my all- time favorite episodes for the entire season, something I hesitate to say because it’s so early. We still have about twenty  episodes to go, and yet…

I was very looking forward to this episode, too. All of the action, except for the last minute or so, takes place entirely inside the Impala. Like Weekend at Bobby’s, it’s basically a day in the life of the Impala, while she listens to the brother’s conversations, gets washed, bloodied up, or violated by some joyriders. By the end of the episode, she’s as exhausted and beat up as the brothers, but she’s determined to keep chugging along, and come through for her beloved Dean, no matter what.

Even Castiel’s voice gets in on the fun.

We start off with Baby’s backstory and a shot of a bloody knife and Dean handcuffed in Baby’s backseat. Baby must be horribly worried about what’s happened to her Boo. Then we’re on to happier moments. Uncle Sam  and Sweetie Dean are giving her a wash. Dean is  complaining that he’s washed her twice already and is getting cabin fever, but I’m sure she doesn’t mind all the special attention.

Naturally it rains on her afterward.

I’m convinced that Baby just carries around her own weather, because she’s always lit well and she knows rain makes her look stunning.  I love these first moments in the car. Dean annoyed at not having beer, Sam telling Cas about Netflix and Dean never taking Swayze’s name in vain. That’s right! You do not dis the Swayze!

They stop at a roadhouse, argue about whether or not they have a case and, later that morning, after a night of debauchery, Dean says one of the funniest things during the episode: Mistakes Were Made! That is a mantra, right there. Sam begs off hanging with Dean in the bar, to make his own mistakes in the backseat, with a perky blonde. I can see Baby rolling her eyes. She’s seen this before.

Dean, never one to let a parting shot rest, “Night Moves” Sam, with one of my all-time favorite bands, Bob Seger, (because I live in Cleveland, and it’s the law.) Yep! just let it wash over you, Sam. Do not try to resist The Seger! I’m certain this is one of Baby’s favorite songs and she’s laughing at Sam, too. In what will go down in history, as one of the finest moments on television, Sam and Dean are singing in the car, and Baby’s feeling fine. They’re all on the road, they’ve  got a case, and  her boys are happy.

Later, the brothers discuss one night stands, having some kind of future beyond that  and whether or not everything is a Bob Seger song to Dean. Well, of course! Bob Seger was very practical about love.

Later, Sam dreams about a young version of John, or something pretending to be John, (creepy), who tells him that The Darkness is coming and gives the encouragement that only he and Dean can stop it. I still wonder who or what this being is. Is it God? The Devil? Some other opponent or a fraction of The Darkness itself? It doesn’t seem malevolent but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Sam has had visions before, that he used to save people, but those turned out to be from Lucifer.

When he mentions this to Dean, Dean says it was just a fever dream. Sam has to come clean about his infection, in episode one, when he prayed to God for help. Dean is disappoint, but confesses that he dreams about Dad teaching him how to drive. It’s a comforting dream for him. Sam confesses he dreams about Mom. They dream of the normal life they’ll never have.

Their case has some conflicting clues of both vampires and werewolves, and Dean coins the term were-pire, which Sam refuses to acknowledge. Dean gives him pissy-face. Deputy Donnelly, of whom we are instantly suspicious because he’s so friendly, gives them advice on where to stay and eat.

The  local eatery only has valet parking, which alarms Dean. I know how he feels. I hate for strangers to sit in my car, too. The valet, Jesse, is less than careful with Baby. I can tell Baby’s  nervous about this person driving her and is soon outraged at her violation, (or possibly secretly delighted. Let’s not assume!),  as the girl does donuts in an empty parking lot nearby.😄😄😄😄 Dean, however, notices nothing wrong.

The Secret Adventures of Baby without Dean!

We don’t know what she gets up to.

Castiel calls Dean at the crime scene. He’s done some research but Dean isn’t listening to him because Officer Donnelly attacks him and hence he misses Castiel acknowledging his were-pire theory. It takes several more tries to put Donnelly down and even beheading doesn’t seem to shut him up. Baby is worried. She’s helpless as her Boo, fights for his life.

Dean finally throws the head in the beer cooler, and gets a call from Sam about a woman being attacked. After picking up Sam, Castiel tells them about what they’re really dealing with, a Nachzehrer. Or, in Dean’s words, a ghoul-pire, which Sam again refuses to acknowledge. Finding that they need actual copper pennies to kill the monster, they stop to get change.

Mrs. Markham, the woman they rescued, wakes up in the backseat and attacks Dean, while Sam is getting change. Hilariously, their entire fight takes place in the interior of the car. Nobody bats an eyelash at this vintage ’67 Chevy riding around with blood all over its windows. Markham takes the car, while Sam shoots out Baby’s back window. Markham reunites the deputy’s head with his body and he confesses his entire scheme to Dean, about making as many converts as possible, to fight The Darkness. He plans to turn Sam, with Dean as Sam’s first meal. Even the monsters are scared of The Darkness. Like the Alpha-Vamp, of season seven, he’s creating an army.

Sam’s one night stand lost her brooch in the backseat, and Dean uses that to pick his cuffs, and then commandeer the vehicle.  You can just hear Baby whispering encouragement to HER baby, as another knockdown, drag out fight, ensues inside the car, between Donnelly, Markham and Dean. And of course, Dean comes through for her, as he always does. That’s why she loves him. After the pack leader, Donnelly, is dispatched, all his victims revert back to human.

Markham, Dean, Sam and Baby, too, all look the worst for wear. Baby’s really tired. She’s got blood all over her, her grill has been bashed in. Baby has been through the ringer on this run, and she’s on her last leg, but when Dean whispers those beautiful words to her, she comes through for him, as he did for her earlier. I don’t care what anybody says, he’s her baby too, and she’ll do anything for him.

Dean grabs his brother, and  sweet talks Baby into rallying for him, again.  I know she’s proud to hear Uncle Sammy call her their  home, while Dean acknowledges his girl has  done it again. Dean’s family intact, the three of them ride off into the sunset, to the soulful strains of Night Moves, which is straight-up going on my MP3 player, right now.

Supernatural : The Bad Seed

Oh Crowley, what hast thou done, now?

It certainly seems as if Crowley has bitten off more than he can chew, in adopting Amara and trying to seduce her to his side of things, but Amara has plans of her own, which probably does not include Crowley’s well being.

Rowena is trying to seduce yet another group of women into joining her cause of “trying to take over the world”, but the three witches she’s trying to recruit are not buying her “Mega-Crap”. They’re also having  too much fun sassing her, so when she learns from them that Crowley is not dead, she disintegrates them, like a child having a tantrum. She’s in possession of The Book of the Damned. So much power really shouldn’t be in the hands of someone so childish and petty, and the witches were right to snub her, I think. I also hesitate to wonder what the outcome will be when The Darkness and Rowena meet each other, although it’s possible the writers won’t go there.

On the other hand, I want that red dress she’s wearing, right now! Rowena is a total clothes horse.

The Winchesters are babysitting Castiel,who is still suffering the effects of the Attack Dog spell, cast on him by Rowena. He looks like he has the flu but is also suffering from hallucinations and seizures. I’m a little confused because I dont know what the seizures were. Dean is having visions too. He’s still spellbound by The Darkness’ interest in him. Sam believes God is near becasue of the vision he was given last episode, but Dean and Sam aren’t for it at all. So, it’s visions all around, huh? I wonder if God thinks of Sam as his favorite, which is why he answered him. Of course, that assumes it was a God who answered.

Crowley is babysitting Amara, while making plans to kill Rowena, and almost succeeds, except his henchmen are incompetent. He does insist on treating Amara like a small girl. Trust me, Crowley. That ain’t no girl.

Rowena decides to take her show on the road, to some second tier witches, at another posh restaurant. They still are not with the Mega Coven thing. She’s really trying to make this happen, and almost succeeds, when she’s attacked by one of Crowley’s assassins, disguised as a waiter. I guess this episode is about almosts. Rowena escapes by throwing around some magic. She was good before she got the book, but now its just too easy.

Dean’s solution, for Castiel’s problem, is reaching Crowley, so he can find Rowena. Sam insults Castiel’s crappy, 1978 Mark IV boat that he used to drive. Castiel has yet another seizure,  and the brothers are getting desperate, when they hear about Rowena’s shenanigans in the restaurant. Castiel’s response to Dean’s what time is it, is intentionally hilarious.  “Earth. Several million years from the beginning.”

Amara has a discussion with her future self in a mirror. She’s learning about the world. About how messed up it is, and she has a grudge against God. Crowley is teaching her about everything evil which is a huge mistake as that’s only fueling her puzzlement and rage against God. She’s going to want to destroy it all, I think.

A demon and an angel meet in a bar, to kvetch about how hard things are for them, and to plan for The Darkness’ eventual dominion. The theme: if the big guns can’t handle it, it’s up to the little guy to do it. Are we talking about The Winchesters, too? They’ve traditionally been cast as the underdogs of the show, taking out opponents bigger and more powerful than them, just by being unwilling to quit, or not acknowledging  they could fail. Is this the theme for the rest of the season, too?

Rowena , now alerted to her danger, is getting ready to run again, while Sam and Dean interrogate the surviving witch, from the restaurant. She agrees to do a locator spell on Rowena. Her response is pretty funny too. (She’s nobody’s third cousin, who doesn’t even get invited to dinner!) I think tonight’s theme is how, even the least of people can create the most trouble, for the large.

Crowley continues to underestimate Amara who, after her discussion with herself, is now on another hunger spree. She kills her nanny and most of the other demons that he provides. Every time she kills, Crowley looks distinctly uncomfortable. I just know he’s wondering when he’ll be next, and what he can do to stop her hurting him, if she has a mind to. He’s being shortsighted because he needs to keep the Winchester Nuclear Option in his pocket and he’s neglecting it.

Sam and Dean find Rowena, and Dean sneaks up on her disguised as a cabbie who is wearing the most gawdawful Hawwaiian shirt, I’ve ever seen. Or maybe it just looks wrong on him, as I’ve never seen him wear a Panama hat, either.

Castiel having been left to entertain himself, stumbles across Dean’s online porn sites. Or maybe Sam’s. Let’s not assume.

Amara says she feels the emptiness of the souls she’s eating. She’s feeding on the wrong souls. She really  should feed on some more wholesome people, maybe. She does ask one pertinent question, when she asks Crowley if he’d be happy if everyone was evil. This conversation is enlightening because she really does sound like she wants to end it all. Heaven, Hell, it’s all meaningless to her.

The brothers have Rowena but lose Castiel and have to hunt him down before he hurts someone. Unfortunately, they have to take Rowena with them because I’m sure if left alone, she’ll get free. Anytime anyone on this show is left alone, for longer than thirty seconds, they manage to escape. Rowena’s conversation with Dean is interesting. This is a woman who knows exactly what her strengths are. Even if she can’t see her own weaknesses, she most certainly can spot the weaknesses of others, and manages to point out every single one of Dean’s, when he tries to strongarm her into giving up The Book of the Damned.

Well, a road trip with Rowena is certainly not boring. She spills the beans on her deal with Sam and when Dean reacts, she’s frustratingly smug. You just want to give her a sharp pinch. But Dean is right. I thought the two of them talked about keeping secrets. Sam kept his infection a secret. We’ll wait for Dean to find out about that, too.

The brothers find Castiel terrorizing a young woman in a warehouse and stop him just in time to get beat up.  Sam, holding Rowena at gun point, makes her retract her spell, but she gets the drop on them both and escapes. Again! She’s like  a tiny, slippery, little noodle, so I’m not at all surprised.

The brothers share a beer with Castiel, while Dean looks a little the worse for wear. When Castiel tries to heal him, he says it’s okay, because he had it coming. Did he tell Sam about what he did to Cas when he was soulless? Is that why there’s so much reckless eyeballing, between the three of them, at that remark?

Crowley walks in to discover that Amara has killed her way into an older body, again. She’s definitely in a hurry to get something done. I fear what that may be. Crowley’s facial expressions are getting more and more eloquent. You can hear his brain screaming, “Oh, sh** ! I have totally f****d up!”

Yeah, Crowley. I think you have.

Supernatural Season 11: Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire

Written by Jeremy Carver and directed by Robert Singer, tonight’s episode picks up directly from the season ten finale. So it’s nice to not have some kind of lag of several months between events. Last season, Dean killed death just before Rowena magically removed the Mark of Cain, which was last season’s endgame. But just like in the best of shows, solving one problem, creates a greater, sometimes worse, problem. (Yeah, it’s problems, all the way down!)

By removing the Mark of Cain, Rowena has unleashed a sentient, primordial Darkness, that existed before God made the world. Now Dean and Sam have to figure out what it is and if and how it can be stopped.

Tonight ‘s episode gets me off to a good start with some Creedence Clearwater Revival: Run Through the Jungle. And its kind of appropriate because Cas does quite a bit of this in the show before, as the title kind of says, going from the frying pan into the fire. He makes the desperate mistake of praying for help. In hte middle of his conversation with Dean, his brethren show up ad take him to some undisclosed location fro some fun and games, I’m bettin’.

When the Darkness hits the Impala, Dean gets pulled out of the vehicle and has a special meeting with The Darkness in the form of a beautiful woman. Its a little confusing, as this happens in flashbacks, as the brothers wake from unconsciousness. Is this really it’s true form? Why is she cozying up to Dean?

Sam wakes up in the car (after having been knocked unconscious) and goes looking for Dean,who is lying unconscious, in a field, half a mile from the Impala. He tells Sam about his meeting with Darkness, who claims she doesn’t even know who Death is. So apparently, The Darkness existed before Death?

As Sam and Dean investigate what happened they come across a dead road crew and a highly alarmed Deputy, who describes something like the events in the episode Croatoan. She’s injured, so the Winchesters take her to the local clinic which has also been attacked. If the men who were exposed to the Darkness outdoors went insane, then why didn’t this happened to Sam, who says he was in the car? The reason I ask is because the clinic doors were wide open. Were the people in the clinic exposed? Or were the doors left open by the attackers? There were a some elements of tonight’s episode that were mildly confusing for me.

In the meantime, Cas remembers stabbing Crowley until he smokes out of his body. Crowley finds a female meatsuit, has an orgy with  her husband and neighbors, and then calls for help to get back into his old body. His minions inform him of the Darkness, at which Crowley scoffs. He doesn’t believe in it, I guess. He’s informed that half of Hell is in a panic, and there were screams coming from the cell, in which Michael and Lucifer were imprisoned.  I think that was the creepiest thing said all evening. Crowley’s scenes are, as usual, the funniest part of the show, though, even while he’s being actively evil.

The Winchesters search the hospital and find a man, and his baby girl, trapped in a supply closet being attacked by one of the infected. The infected man eventually collapses and dies. The  trapped man tells them how he got trapped and when they find out he’s infected, he wants the Deputy to take care of his baby for him, to which she agrees. She must be on some tremendously good painkillers, because she just had a major wound stitched up  an hour ago and is smiling adn happy when she agree to adopt a newborn baby.

The brothers argue about tactics after the hospital is besieged by some infected people. Dean advocates killing everything in sight, while Sam would rather save lives and find a cure. After some argument, they go with Sam’s plan to lure the Infecteds away, while Dean, the Deputy, and the baby, make their escape and it works, except Sam gets infected, while defending himself, and is now exceptionally motivated to find a cure.

The big question is, will he tell Dean about it, or try to keep it a secret? I bet I can guess which one!

In a very interesting epilogue, the young deputy finds a strange birthmark on the baby’s left shoulder. Its the Mark of Cain. What does this mean for the baby? For the Darkness? For Crowley and Rowena, who I don’t think is going to make it to the end of the season? Is Sam going to be sick again and how will we stand it? I mean, we just got used to him being free of all illness, of some kind, in season ten. That’s really not long enough to get used to seeing him in his right mind for a change.

Has anyone else noticed that Sam, in his right mind, is a seriously stubborn son a b****? I know it must be a special kind of infuriating for Dean to have to argue every little thing with him ,every time he makes a decision. He probably has to resist the urge to knock Sam unconscious himself, which has already happened once, just in this first episode. Somebody should be keeping track of that.

Did anyone else think it was deeply creepy when the Infecteds ran up to Sam, sniffed him and then wandered away in disinterest? Yeah, I know. If Sam’s demon blood kept him from being infected in Croatoan, will it come into play for this new, whatever-it-is, too?

How did you like this season opener? Let me know in the comments.

Supernatural: Season 10 Overview

I loved this season and I felt really positive about the finale. I know that sounds really weird but I’ll explain. The brothers chose each other once again, neither of them are dead and because of their bone-headed stubbornness, they have an all new, even bigger problem to solve next season.

(At least a part of this optimism, has to do with not being immersed in the fandom, the way I used to be. Not having to navigate my way through other people’s opinions about how they feel or about how I should feel has been very freeing. I no longer have this insane need to argue with people about their  interpretations of the show..and how they are all exceptionally and indubitably WRONG. I can just tell people what I think, and they have no choice but to accept my opinion or start their own blog. 😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆!!! (BWHA HA HA HA HA!!!)

But really, all gloating aside, this was a very good season and here’s why: my bar is pretty low when it comes to most TV shows. All I require is that they be entertaining, and  mentally and visually stimulating. When I get more than that, I get giddy.

Like now:

Black/Reichenbach/Soul Survivor:

I consider the first three episodes of the season to be a three-parter. For my views on these three episodes see: On Deanmon and Demonic Performance at:    https://wordpress.com/post/76570149/192/  where I address some of the issues that came up while watching them.

These are really some of my favorite episodes of the season. I know there were some fans who wanted to see more Demon!Dean, but I feel like a little bit of that went a long way and, apparently, there were some other points the writers were trying to make this season, that precluded much focus on Dean behaving badly. I also found Soul Survivor to be very suspenseful, with the hunt through the Bunker and the red herring of fratricide as one of the sub themes this season. See the above link to understand why I feel this was a ruse on the part of the writers.

You’re back! Great!

I think the writers wanted to get back to the first five season arc and the emotional focus on family issues and I think they succeeded. The focus is not just on the brothers, but all the families they came into contact with. For the rest of the season, the brothers meet various dysfunctional people and attempt to fix them, while working to strengthen their own relationship.

As a result, we get some fairly light-hearted, touching, and snarky moments with the brothers, throughout the season, and I enjoyed that. I don’t particularly care for those seasons where they seem to hate each other and there’s little humor between them but I will tolerate that for the purposes of storytelling.

All the families had some commentary on the brothers current relationship, especially the fourth episode of the season titled, Paper Moon. I did not like this episode but it is an acceptable story. The idea of Dean killing Sam is reinforced  and the entire episode is a direct commentary on where the brothers are in their relationship.

Fan Fiction:

If the previous episodes are a commentary on where the brothers are and where they might be headed then this episode is a chronicle of the brother’s past. I was not really on board with the idea of it being a musical but the writers managed to pull this off very well, without insulting the fans. This is now one of my favorites for the season. The theme song, as sung in the play, is one of the stand out moments of the entire season.

I feel this episode was also a love letter to the fans, as well.

Hibbing 911:

One of the things the writers got right this season was the depiction of women. In Paper Moon, Fan Fiction, Ask Jeeves, Girls,Girls, Girls,The Things We Left Behind, The Hunter Games, Halt and Catch Fire, Paint It Black and Angel Heart, there are decent depictions of women, who have agency, make choices that affect the plot, usually have more than one woman in them and  these women make efforts to reach out to each other and interact with each other intelligently.

Mostly.

The women depicted in these episodes are all characters in their own right, with motivations and backstories beyond being just girlfriends, wives and mothers. Yes, they are supporting characters (when it comes to the Winchesters, everyone is a supporting character) but their support “just happens” to be in line with what the brothers are trying to accomplish in each episode. Supporting the Winchesters isn’t their only reason for existing. And what often happened, was that the brothers would show up in the middle of a story, where the women were already involved.

And this brings us to Hibbing 911. I love the writers for introducing me to the show I didn’t  know I wanted, called the Donna and Jodi Power Hour. These two are an awesome team and I hope we get to see them again next season. Everything about the relationship between these two older, professional women was just lovely. From Jodi’s initial reluctance to get close to Donna, to her full (and physical) support when Donna gets bullied by her ex-boyfriend, to their conversations about their families, this is an example of what women talk about when men are (or sometimes aren’t) around, guys.

About a Boy:

I found the idea of Dean reduced to his childhood again very ticklish. I also enjoyed the mythology of Hansel and Gretel, most of which is in line with what I learned in mythology books, but given a modern twist. It also answers the idea of the witch being able to procure lots of children. She’s a lot less likely to get caught, and its a much more elegant solution. It’s a lot easier to  transform adults into kids rather than stealing  lots of actual kids.

Executioner’s Song:

The return of Cain was much anticipated. Yeah, sure theres every kind of plot hole but I don’t care because its always fun to watch Tim Omundson go to work.

All season long, the writers have been setting up the idea that Dean will kill Sam but I was only half buying it because every time there’s some set up or prophecy for what the brothers MUST do, they mostly seem to break it, defy it, or do some kind of end run around it. They almost always choose each other and I mostly expected that here. I prepared for Dean to kill Sam but I never really believed one of them would die.

Inside Man:

Is largely notable for the return of Bobby Singer. It was nice to see him again and he was not ill used. I also enjoyed seeing Metatron turned  human. I totally didn’t see that coming. The following episode was notable for watching Castiel get his groove back. That was pretty awesome, but somewhat mitigated by Boogertron’s escape.

The Prisoner/Brother’s Keeper:

I mostly viewed these two as one long episode. They were notable for the introduction of the Frankenstein Family, their destruction at the hands of BAMF!Dean, now fully in thrall to the MoC, and for finally getting to see Crowley’s red-eyed demon face. We often forget Crowley is a demon because he’s so likable but yeah!  demon!

Sam’s tearful pleading with Dean, that he was a good man and that he should choose him, really got to me. Hell, it still does. I haven’t been so emotionally affected since Crowley’s plea to be loved. Sam so desperately needed to save his Dean, (and himself) that it was truly heartbreaking to watch. It was not elegant or eloquent or articulate at all. He had only pure, raw anguish at his disposal and he used it to powerful effect.

He was cast in the role Dean occupied during season nine, only his role was much, more difficult than Dean’s. Sam couldn’t rely on trickery, demons or Angels to save either of them. He had to rely entirely on his own emotions, words and actions to convince Dean to choose life for them both. I thought, last season, he might have to eat the words he said to Dean, about not doing the same for Dean. I remember saying, “No, he won’t  do the same thing. He is going to do brand  NEW, shitty things instead”, and I was right.

While Dean’s condemnation of Sam’s words, from that time,  was entirely appropriate, his condemnation of Sam’s actions felt a little false. I didn’t get the feeling he was very upset about the things Sam did to try to save him, until they argued about The Book of The Damned and its destruction. That felt more genuine.

I mentioned before that this season was very enjoyable for me. The writers kept their shit on point, this season, with every episode hammering home the idea of family, duty, and sacrifice. Sometimes a little too heavy but that’s to be expected. This is really their first try at this sort of deeply focused storytelling.  The writers were on their game with the subplots and sub themes as well. There were many layers this season. A lot of depth. I have to give the writers the ” Golden Shizznickle” for effort.

We were introduced to several new characters and will be seeing more of them next season, although we lost Charlie. Dont get me wrong, I  loved Charlie. I loved her from the  moment she started dancing in that elevator, to what is now, one of my favorite songs,  “Walkin’ on Sunshine”, (when I’m having an especially good day, this is often the song floating through my head),  but I knew she’d die eventually and I knew when it happened it would not be pretty.

None of the Winchesters family or friends ever dies pretty. Hunters, as a general law, do not die in bed. The moment Charlie decided to become a Hunter, that was her death sentence.

I knew Charlie would have a brutal death, so I was not shocked by that. It was inevitable and just like Bobby, Rufus, Meg, Kevin and numerous others, it would be largely unexpected, meaningless and in service to the Winchester’s story.

Every guest on Supernatural gets “fridged”. One day it will be Jodi’s turn or Donna’s. One day Cas will stay dead.

If you think about it, for the brothers, it must be like living in a little slice of Hell. Everybody dies but them. Everyone who gets close to them goes away and they are only ever left with each other. They can’t ever be released from the torment of watching all they love, get carried away from them, and their only companions are pain, suffering and the demons and Angels who cause it.

This show has been a ten-year long paean to loss and mourning.

I can’t say I liked any of the Angel themes this season. I was mostly bored with Castiel’s story line but Hanna’s defection back to Heaven was a surprise. Really! It was a complete surprise. It came out of nowhere. I really could have used a little more foreshadowing on that.

Crowley’s story..well, that deserves its own post, so stay tuned. Crowley and Rowena was a very rich story line and we are going to examine that one in more detail, at a later date, in order to do it justice..

Still, over all, a very likable season. I don’t normally like to assign numbers but I’d give it four out of five stars.

Favorite episode was really, really hard to choose, but I’m going to go with a tie of Executioner’s Song and Fan Fiction.

What did you think about the season? Let me know in the comments?

Yeah, okay! You can argue with me, too.

See:

https://tvgeekingout.wordpress.com/2015/02/27/supernatural-the-road-so-far/

https://tvgeekingout.wordpress.com/2014/10/21/supernatural-on-deanmon-and-demonic-performance/#comments

Supernatural: The Prisoner/ Brother’s Keeper

Tonight is the season 10 finale of Supernatural. There’s always some major fan-wankery going on just before the end of the show, and I have no patience for that kind of thing, so I’m going to try not to engage in any of it here. We will find out if Dean will be cured, what the price of that cure will be and whose life is going to undergo a   significant change. And that’s as much  as I’ll speculate now.

The Prisoner:

In Louisiana , the youngest Stein is accosted by bullies, but totally owns them before  his brother shows up to interrupt. The Steins use the bully for parts, later.

Sam and Dean bury Charlie. Dean blames Sam for Charlie’s death, while sad songs and memories play in the background. Sam’s eulogy is just not enough. He feels bad but I think Charlie was a sacrifice he’s willing to make to keep Dean, as horrible as that sounds. Dean vows to kill the Steins.

The Steins plan to steal the magical artifacts of The Bunker. Lil’ Stein gets drafted to accompany them. He hates his family but he does kill his bully, that was kidnapped earlier, and laid out in their lab. So, not quite so innocent after all.

Sam informs Castiel of Charlie’s death, who naturally blames himself. Sam receives Charlie’s last email and keeps trying to interpret the book against Dean’s orders. Sam makes a deal with Rowena, to use one of her spells, to kill Crowley, in exchange for an interpretation of The Book,  and sends Castiel off to stop Dean. His desperation to save Dean is so palpable.

Dean gets arrested by the police, who are in the pay of The Steins.

Crowley gets a call from Dean asking for his help.

Dean totally Jason Bournes one the cops, and escapes to go visit the Stein family home.

Sam tries to kill Crowley using a Devil’s Trap bullet and a hex bag from Rowena. The hex bag doesn’t kill him. Crowley confesses he’s been trying to do good for the past year, but Sam doesn’t forgive. All the spell does is make Crowley  angry.

Dean gets captured by The Steins. They prepare to use him for parts but he breaks free and kills the entire clan.

We get to see Bamf!Dean. It’s awesome, terrifying, horrifying and awful. This is the relentless creature he’s going to become if Sam doesn’t save him.

The leftover-Steins break into the Bunker and trash it. Dean interrupts and kills them, including Baby Stein, who pleads for his life.

Sam informs Rowena that her spell didn’t work and that Crowley is now hunting her.

Castiel tries to talk to Dean, at the Bunker, but Dean thrashes him, threatens to kill him and walks out. Cas could easily defend himself, but takes the beating. Probably as a punishment for Charlie’s death, which he blames himself for.

Brother’s Keeper:

Castiel expresses doubt about using the Book of the Damned. Sam makes an eloquent argument to save his brother, no matter the price. His desperation is heartbreaking.

Dean works a case. Badly. Rudy, another Hunter, shows up, but Dean tries to send him off, which makes Rudy angry. Dean is mostly being a first class shit. Wow! Even I don’t like this Dean. What a dick!

Sam threatens to shoot Rowena. But she wants to renegotiate their deal. She knows which spell to use. Castiel cautions.

Rowena reads off the ingredients, for the spell, which sound impossible. One of the ingredients is the sacrifice of something Rowena loves. Rowena loves herself but mostly a peasant boy, named Oscar,  whose been dead 300 years, she says.

Dean causes Rudy’s death. He saves the girl he was hunting, but this is a pretty shitty way to Hunt. Its a good sign that he still experiences pangs of guilt about the things he’s done since giving in to the Mark, though.

Castiel summons Crowley. He tells Castiel to beg him for assistance. Castiel does and he keeps his word.

Dean summons The Horseman, Death. He wants Death to kill him. This is interesting. Where is this plot going?

Death informs him that The Mark, The First Curse, cannot be destroyed. So he can’t die. He gives the history of The Mark, which is also a key to the Eternal Primal Darkness, that God banished from Earth. If it should be destroyed or removed, the Primal Darkness would be set free. Dean must make a decision. Pass it on or isolate himself.

Dean calls Sam to say goodbye. I need tissues already.

Crowley finds Oscar working in a Biggersons diner. The diner and young man that he’d visited earlier.

So. Not dead, after all.

Dean tells Sam he needs to kill him Before going into exile because Sam would disrupt the universe again to save him and Death can’t have that.

It’s hard to watch the show with blurry vision, girl. Hang in there!

Dean tries to convince Sam and makes a compelling argument. Sam tries to convince him they’re not bad men.

Crowley meets Rowena. He brings Oscar along for the ride. The only thing she ever loved.

The brothers duke it out. But Sam changes his mind and pulls out his trump card. Photos of Mom. He agrees to die for Dean. Death hands Dean his scythe and Dean, surprisingly, uses it on Death.

I think the brothers have just disrupted the universe again.

Rowena sacrifices Oscar for Dean’s cure.

Dean is cured but Rowena’s spell makes her more powerful, sets her free and she  turns Castiel into a rage monster who attacks Crowley.

Now that The Mark/Key has been destroyed, the Primal Darkness, that God banished from the Earth, has been set free. Wow!

Yeah, the Winchesters broke the world.

Again.

Analysis: 

Well, I didn’t see that coming.

Tonights episode was notable for not killing either of the brothers. Something I continued to believe wouldn’t happen, no matter how hard Dean beat Sam. I actually thought he would change his mind and give Sam the Mark of Cain. I totally didn’t see the death of Death, though.

So now, Dean is cured, the Primal Darkness has been set loose and the entire Earth is in jeapordy.  Death is dead. Castiel is insane. Must be Wednesday.

I’m not even going to guess how they get out of this one. They’re either gonna need God for this (and he’s on vacation), or they need  to get The Mark back.

I did like this episode, a lot, even though it felt like the writers pulled a few of these things out of their ass. Like Oscar and the history of The Mark of Cain. But overall, I liked this season. It was nice and tight and had some clear themes.  Even the MotW episodes managed to stay on point.

The season is done, but  I’m not.

Stay tuned for a full season analysis by next week.

Supernatural:Dark Dynasty

Only three episodes left in the season and the writers have only just introduced some interesting, new, heavy hitters to the game: The Stein Family,  although, we had already been introduced to the idea of a Grand Coven with the introduction of Rowena.

Tonight, I’m very excited because we get the whole gang. Charlie, Rowena, Castiel, and Crowley and what will be the most fun is seeing all these characters, who’ve mostly never met before, interacting with each other.

C’mon writers! I expect to see a lot of juicy stuff, tonight. If we’re good then the next two episodes will go in all our top ten lists, for this season.

Omaha Nebraska

A pretty young woman, another redhead,  volunteers for a research study of eyesight and gets her throat cut  and eyes stolen, instead. Her killer jumps out of a third story window and survives.

Sam berates Rowena for not living up to their bargain. She’s having no luck and says she needs another book to decode her book.

The eye-knapper, who I’m going to call The Stein from this point forward,  is being chastised by his family for leaving a witness. His excuse is that his brother died and he can’t seem to control himself. He gets demoted and given the task of hunting the Winchesters, who murdered his brother. One of the other brothers is tasked with finding Charlie, who is still magically cloaked, I’m guessing.

Sam is as bad a liar as Dean ,who suspects Sam is up to something, just not what. Dean has been investigating The Steins and tells Sam  their next case is the woman whose eyes were taken.

Charlie calls the Bunker,  The Death Star. That’s hilarious to me.

Sam meets with her, so she can work with Rowena to decode their books. Charlie expresses exactly my feeling when it comes to the brothers lying to each other. Again!  This is exactly the kind of shit that got the demons released from Hell and landed Sam in Hell himself. Sam’s whole idea that Dean has given up and Sam must protect him at any cost. He’s doing all the same things he did before but with a witch instead of a demon, I guess.

They keep making bad deals to keep each other alive and someone else pays the price. Now, Sam is in the same position Dean was in, during season nine, with Gadreel.

I wonder what fresh Hell will be unleashed at the end of this season because of the crap he’s pulling now.

Rowena’s and Charlie’s first meeting is not going well. When Castiel walks in, we have a grand trifecta of awesome. He does not want to be there, either. Rowena is hilarious and they all yell at Sam for lying to Dean and going behind his back. But since he manages to talk everyone into going along with him, they are, now,  all complicit in his lying.

Demons interrupt Crowley’s torture session to bring him the news that his Mum is missing. Now the search for Rowena begins.

Sam and Dean, in their best suits, investigate the killing and watch videos. They notice the Stein tattoo.Cas calls while they’re detectiving and Sam lies to Dean about that too. One of the Steins shows up the very  moment they leave and kills the man who rented the office.

Castiel cracks jokes about blood sugar and brings pork rinds. Good job Cas! Rowena explains, to cure one curse, another has to be inflicted. Rowena, in an attempt to manipulate Charlie, gives her a good reading. She tells Charlie that her devotion to the Winchesters will get her killed. Sadly, she’s probably right.

So, they may find a cure for Dean, but something worse might happen, in place of The MoC.

Sam and Dean discuss the case. Dean still thinks the book has been destroyed, while Sam deflects the conversation. They’re being followed by The Stein. Every time Sam lies I just wince. The writers are really laying it on thick and sooner or later that shit is going to come to a head. But this is Leming -Ross and Co. I do not expect subtle from them.

Cas calls Sam again, while Rowena and Charlie bicker in the background. Dean picks up the phone this time, but Cas is a far worse liar than Sam. OMG, is he awful! Dean is circling closer and closer. He questions Sam about the call. Sam deflects again and sends Dean out for pizza.

Crowley is talking to the Olivet -Rat, to find some dirt on Rowena. Olivet is snitching like a…well…you know.

Dean gets ambushed by The Steins and drops his pizza.  He kills one of them and abducts the other and imprisons him. The Stein knows about the MoC. He claims their family is a global empire, that influences world affairs. Could destroying The Steins  be the brother’s next goal?

Charlie tells Castiel that Rowena is driving her crazy and she needs to go be alone.

Cas calls again, in the middle of the interrogation. While Sam is out of the room, The Stein tells Dean about harvesting human body parts to enhance their own and says they use to be the “Franks” and had to change their name because someone wrote a book about them.

You know who I mean.

Cas’ dilemma is that he can’t leave Rowena and Charlie can’t be alone either and nothing is getting done because the gingers are too busy fighting.

Dean parlays with his hostage, who informs him that the BoD cannot be destroyed. Dean now knows Sam is lying but before he can ask him about it, the Stein rips his own arm off and is now dying somewhere in the Bunker. Luckily for Sam, the Book of the Damned is not in it.

Cas solution is to take Rowena into another room. She tells Cas that Crowley is her son. I wonder what Cas will do with that information.

The Stein, who is on Charlie’s trail, calls his brother, who has escaped The Batcave. He says  he’s found Charlie’s motel, at the same moment,  Charlie has run out on Cas. I can pretty much see where this is going. The only question is will the brothers or Cas save her first.

Dean has called Sam on his BS and is, rightfully, mad as Hell about  his lies. Cas calls with the news that Charlie is missing. She’s  at the motel and The Steins are coming. She’s trapped in the bathroom and calls Sam as they find her. She  decides to upload her notes from The Book. To where? The Winchesters scream at her to give The Steins whatever they ask for, no matter what it is. She decides to fight instead. Sam and Dean speed to the motel, but are too late.

Her devotion to the Winchesters, will be her downfall.

Castiel is the worse babysitter. Ever.

NOTE:

I know some of the fandom didn’t like Charlie but I don’t care. To me,  Charlie is a perfect illustration of not being able to please everyone. And I liked her immensely. When Becky was on the show, White women hated her, because they felt she was a mockery of the fandom. As a WoC, I was not insulted by Becky, but then the mockery, if that’s what it was, wasn’t aimed at me and I have different criteria for what constitutes a bad, female character. Charlie wasn’t anywhere close to problematic for me as a character. And I don’t get outraged, about Mary Sue characters, in the same way others do. Either I have very low standards or whatever social issue, was pinged, in the minds of the people who hated her, passed right over my head.

That said, I’m really going to miss the Hell out of her, but I’m not surprised either. I kind of expected this to happen again.

Everyone. And I mean everyone, who gets close to the Winchesters, dies.

Just like Crowley warned Kevin.

And of course, this is Supernatural. Charlie has died before. She might die again.

Or, Hell,  maybe she’s not dead, at all.

Hope to see her again soon.

Supernatural : Angel Heart

I guess you can tell, by the title, that this episode will be very Angel adjacent, and that means lots of Castiel. Unfortunately, he will also be bringing along  some baggage in the form of Claire. If you’ve guessed I’m not a fan of Claire, well, you’re right. But it’s Supernatural, so I’m sure that this episode can overcome the presence of Claire.

And there’s always the possibility she might do something remotely relatable to me, so…

We find that Amelia, Claire’s mother, is being held hostage and bled by some guy.  He keeps her pacified with pleasant dreams about Jimmy Novak.

Claire is in a bar looking for a guy named Ronnie Cartwright. She believes he knows where Amelia is. Ronnie is an ugly drunk who claims hes never seen her. In the alley behind the bar, she also finds out he’s also a liar. He at least has the presence of mind to call an ambulance for her, when he accidentally knocks her out.

Cas calls the brothers, to help with Claire, at the hospital. Evidently, Cas is on her emergency contact list. She confesses she’s looking for her mum and, I guess, needs closure by ranting at her about ruining her life. She gives the trio Ronnie Cartwright’s name. Of course as soon as everyone’s back is turned, she disappears. Gob, but I want to smack the ever loving snot out of this character. She’s every quality I hate in a teenager.

Cas and Dean find Ronnie back in the bar and Dean is more than a little twitchy. He beats a confession out of Ronnie, who claims he took Amelia to the faith healer who cured his blindness. He procured lost people for him, until he found out the man tortured his victims, then he fled.

Sam is waiting for Claire at the motel. (How Winter Soldier of him.) He says he’ll help her find her mom by teaching her how to hack into her credit card records.

Ronnie, in yet another alley, snitches to the healer that Sam and Dean are hunters and is promptly stabbed to death, after the healer takes his sight away.

Sam and Claire bond over the life of a hunter, when Cas and Dean show up, with the information that Ronnie gave them. Cas has brought her a Grumpycat birthday gift from ” the Hot Topical.” When they hear of Ronnie’s death, they all immediately suspect Dean, who declares his innocence and leaves. Cas’ words to Sam, about what happened in the bar, are not reassuring. He tells him Dean is getting worse.

There’s some detectiving by Dean at  Ronnie’s crime scene and he gets the name Holloway.

Cas and Sam leave Dean and Claire behind. Dean is upset that Sam is ditching him again. He does have a point. Cas tells  the two of them not to fight.Dean and Claire don’t stay put, though. Dean decides they need to take a road trip.

For miniature golf.

This is not otherwise remarkable, except that the writers are bringing us full circle to the beginning of the season, with Dean trying to distract himself, from his growing twitchiness, with trifling activities and Sam engaging in questionable and underhanded behavior,  to save him. Dean trying hard not to be a monster and Sam trying his damnedest to become one, on Dean’s behalf.

We begin as we mean to go on.

In the car, Sam counsels Cas about Claire and how to be a family. Not that he’s following that advice himself, but it’s nice to know he knows it.

Claire and Dean bond over bad golf movies, while Sam and Cas go interrogate the healer.

Dean apologizes, once again, for what happened to Claire and explains that Cas is a hero,who saved the world. When  they get to the last hole, Claire gives Dean a clue. He figures out that Ronnie was stabbed with an Angel  sword and what they’re all dealing with is a Grigori.

Sam and Cas find Amelia, who panics when she sees Cas. Sam gets ambushed by Holloway, when he’s distracted by Dean’s phone call.

When Cas and Sam don’t answer his calls,  Dean gives Claire a gun and sets off to rescue them.

Amelia faces the fact that Jimmy is gone and that she’s been dreaming, for two years, about putting her family back together.

Sam is tied up.

Again.

Holloway starts monologuing. His real name is Tamiel, he’s a Grigori, he feeds on Angels, hates humans. Blah, blah, blah.  Got it. He gives Sam plenty of time to break free, because getting tied up, and breaking free, is Sam’s superpower.

Dean and Claire case the house, while Cas  and Amelia do some bonding.

Claire and Amelia have a semi-happy reunion while Dean goes in search of Sam.

Claire tries to sneak her mother away and encounters Holloway. Bullets don’t work on a Grigori, so Amelia gets stabbed. Cas tackles Holloway and they all fight and lose, but it’s Claire, who makes the kill. She watches Amelia die. Now all she has left is Cas.

Amelia goes to heaven and sees Jimmy Novak. The irony of having searched for him so long, only to find that the easiest way to have found him, was to die. But at least we’ve closed out The Novak’s story, with all of them accounted for. Their entire existence disrupted by the arrival of Angels. This is, I think, is what Hanna was talking about. That the Angels cause nothing but destruction.

Could all this talk of the damage Angels do to human lives, be leading to the Angels withdrawing from Earth, and never taking human hosts again?

Sam and Dean take Claire to Jodi Mills. Sam claims it’s not a halfway house, but that’s what it looks like, if Jodi keeps picking up stray girls. Dean gifts Claire with a copy of Caddyshack and an Enochian dictionary, because he saw her take the Angel sword.

She keeps the Grumpycat doll.

They put her in cab and see her off, while depressing music (Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain) by The Redheaded Stranger, Willie Nelson,  plays on the soundtrack.

Since making one spectacularly bad decision after another, seems to be one of Claire’s superpowers, how much you wanna bet she bails before reaching her destination?

This episode was kind of “meh” . Not good, not great. No mythology,  no Crowley, no Rowena and I got tired of snarking on Claire after a minute, but next week’s episode looks a little better.

There will be Charlie.

This is why I’m an advocate for the 16 hour season. With only 12 or 16 episodes to work with, the writers have to get directly to the plot of each season, without a whole lot of filler. I would not, then, have to sit through mediocre episodes like this one, hoping there’s a nugget in it.

In honor of this episodes mediocrity, there will be no photos for this post.

After all, of the writers are going to phone in episodes like this, this close to the end of the season, why should I make any extra effort, to spice up, their lackluster work?

Supernatural : The Werther Project

Last week, the brothers, with the help of Charlie Bradbury, found the Book of the Damned and came into contact with another coven of witches, The Stein Family, who were also in pursuit of the Book, a semi-sentient entity, with a direct link to the Mark of Cain. The book itself is pure evil and could cure The Mark of Cain, but at far too high a price.

Tonight’s episode is another mythology heavy episode. We’re going to be getting all the good ones during this last stretch to the finale.

Plus: The return of Benny! Yay!

I loved, loved, loved this character, who is one of a handful of White guys, on this planet, with a voice to rival Barry White. (Those of you who don’t know who that is, let’s educate!)

(This is also a perfect Sam/Dean or Dean/Benny song, for those of you In the know! Barry even has Sam’s flowing locks and mastery of facial hair!)

And there’s also some other, minor stuff going on in this episode, involving Dean in Purgatory, Sam, flicking his hair (his own hair, not Dean’s) and, if we’re really, really good, some glowering from Crowley.

Okay, let’s get started.

St. Louis Missouri 1973

Two siblings fight over the TV and chores. The young lady is wearing some serious, high water, Sans-a- belt slacks and her Momma is an anti-feminist douche who makes her do all the “girly ” stuff in the house, like laundry. After the young girl breaks open a hole in the wall of their basement,she discovers a large metal box.  She gets knocked out and a green, smokey Tinker Bell flies free. On waking up, she walks in on the other members of her family who are in the process of killing themselves. Horror ensues.

Sam is making  a deal with Rowena, to translate the Book of the Damned, in exchange for killing Crowley. Rowena tells him to find an old witches Codex to help her.  The Codex belonged to a coven leader, who was  killed by the Men of Letters, and  may still be in the bunker.

Dean, after  taking  out six vamps, searches successfully for beer. Sam shows up chastises him for running off and doing the job alone. Dean says he’s getting tired of Sam looking at him like he’s a diseased puppy. Interesting conversation there. There’s feels all over the place.

Back at the bunker, Sam begins his search by listening to recordings of The Men of Letters, especially those involving Cuthbert Sinclair. The Werther Box, which killed two of the Men who found it, holds the Codex that Sam is searching for. This is a very nicely shot scene, involving a flashback with a long pan of the camera, until we’re back in the present, with Sam at the same spot.

The Werther Box is guarded by yet another spell. Sam calls Rowena for help and she lobbies to come to the bunker. Sam says no and runs off to find the the Box. He shows up at the house, where the family was murdered, but is shooed away by the owner, who waves a gun at him. Dean, smiling like a loon, surprises him at his car. He wants to know how Sam’s case is going. Call me cynical but I believe that Dean is just looking for another opportunity to kill something. Oh, but the look on Sam’s face….priceless!

Is there someone, out there, who could give at least one of the brothers a short, sharp slap, for still keeping secrets from each other? Dean, is in a really jovial mood, apologizes profusely, for doing his last case alone and says Sam doesn’t need to punish him by doing his case alone. Okay, he doesn’t actually know what Sam is up to, but Sam does tell him about the Werther box and that its responsible for the deaths of that family from 1973. (Better be careful Sam. You’re skirting real close to not lying.)

Dean talks his way past the overzealous owner, Susie, while Sam sneaks in the back way. (Susie isn’t much of a homemaker. The house looks like shit.)

Sam works his way into the basement, after nearly being discovered by Susie, who happens to be the young girl from the opening credits.  (Well, that explains why the house looks like crap. She always hated housework.) While Sam tries the spell, in the basement, Susie warns Dean about the Box. Deans tries to warn Sam to leave.(He calls him Sammy! Squeeee!)

Sam’s spell releases the spirit or spell from the box and it possesses Susie and Dean. Susie sees the ghosts of her family and starts shooting at them. She then shoots herself to escape their accusations.

Dean sees Purgatory.

Susie’s ghost confronts Sam and chastises him, although this sounds very like Sam’s guilty conscience talking. Before he can succumb to despair, Rowena shows up and vanquishes Susie’s fake ghost.

Sam goes to find Dean but Dean can’t see or hear him, or Rowena.

While dreaming Purgatory, Benny saves Dean from one of its monsters. Dean knows he’s dreaming but he can’t tell the difference. Benny and Purgatory look and feel extremely real.

Rowena’s solution is to tie Dean up, to keep him from hurting himself, while she and Sam try to break the Werther Box. So, now Sam is working with a witch, to break a spell box, to procure a Codex, to translate a Book, to break a Curse, given to Dean, by a demon.

Wow! Oookaaay!

Benny confronts Dean about loving purgatory, having the Mark of Cain, and Dean’s backup plan of killing himself. Which is useless because he’d only become a demon again, right? Or end up in Purgatory, right?

It turns out that a Legacy’s blood, Sam’s blood, can break the current spell on the Box.

Dean, manifesting his demonic self, breaks out of his restraints, makes a weapon from a bottle of wine and contemplates doing…something.

Sam offers up more and more of his blood to the Werther box. He’s starting to get weak from blood loss, which, of course, Rowena encourages because…evil.

Dean turns his weapon on the fake Benny, and wakes up just in time to save Sam from killing himself. Dean offers his own blood, to complete the spell, when he sees Sam can’t finish it. The blood works, Dean opens the Box, and retrieves the Codex.

Later, Dean sledgehammers the box. He tells Sam that what happened, was a perfect illustration of the two of them being better together, than apart. (If only the two of them followed their own advice.) Sam forgives Dean for running off to slay vampires without him and says he understands why he did it. (Yeah, I bet  you do, Mr. Lone Wolf.) Dean asks what was so important that it needed such a nasty spell to protect it. He does not  ask about Rowena’s presence.

Later, Sam takes the Codex to Rowena, then betrays her and locks her in irons. She can get free but only after she translates the Book of the Damned. How much you wanna bet that she somehow manages to get free, and cause even more havoc, because that’s one of her superpowers. Apparently, she is this season’s Crowley.

Next week, we get some Castiel action. Unfortunately, he’ll be accompanied, by his less than interesting minor…Claire. I’m not clamoring to see her again, so I’m not feeling especially shiny about next week.

And there was no Crowley at all, this episode.

I am disappoint!

Supernatural: Book of the Damned

Alright, SPN Fans! We are in the homestretch at the eighteenth episode of season ten. We are all on the edge of our various seats, to find out just how this season will end. Will a cure for the Mark of Cain be discovered, and if so, what will be the price for the Winchesters? Will Castiel get his grace back? What part will Metatron play in this finale? Who is going to die?

Whatever happens, I can pretty much guarantee we probably won’t see it coming (and for the handful of you who think you know- you won’t know how.) The writers always manage to surprise us, somehow, and they have the benefit of knowing what’s  been given to us in the last nine finales.

Tonight is going to be another mythology-heavy episode, with some major revelations as Charlie, in her second appearance this season, has found the Book of the Damned, which will supposedly shed some light on how to get rid of the Mark of Cain.

Charlie is being pursued by men in black leather with guns, but she gets the drop on them with a short sword and a garbage bin. They tell her they’re after the Book. One of them has a strange Mark on his wrist. So is this a new player in the game?

Metatron is annoying Cas as he tries his best to ignore him. Does that man ever shut up? Cas calls Sam and asks permission to kill him and Metatron keeps babbling until he finally punches him. Twice. But that only lasts a second because his mouth opens up  again as if nothing had occurred.

Dean finally confesses to Sam what  Crowley told him last week. That the Mark was a curse that protected him from Rowena’s attack in the bar. So he  does comes clean about what happened last week but I don’t like that he waited so long to do it. Too busy pranking Sam’s room, I guess.

Charlie calls the brothers for help. She tells them she has the Book, it’s language is unknown and that it can undo any kind of spell or damnation. She tells  them  about her marked pursuers and the brothers guide her to a safehouse near her location. The brothers pack and head out.

Driving to get Charlie, have you ever noticed the Impala is always wet. It’s like she carries her own personal humidity around with her. I know she looks great wet, but still. The brothers plan a beach vacation if they get rid of the Mark. Somehow, I don’t think that’s in their future.

Metatron eats like a pig, but those Belgian waffles look delightful. He tries to form an emotional connection with Cas, through the senses of  humanity, but Cas won’t forgive him for killing Dean. The two of them are  being watched and pursued by another angel.

When  Charlie hands him the book, Dean has a reaction, of some kind, not unlike the reaction he had to the First Blade.

.

The angel, who is very angry with the two of them, for breaking Heaven,  attacks Cas and Metatron in the parking lot and Metatron saves Cas’ life when the attacker gets the drop on him. Metatron is trying hard to suck up to Cas becasue he knows that as soon as he produces Cas’ grace, Cas will kill him.

The brothers are now in possession of a book that is unreadable and in code. Dean tells the two nerds they can handle it. Sam puts the book in a special lockbox after seeing Dean’s reaction to it and apparently that was the right thing to do because now the people tracking the book can’t see it anymore.

Metatron finally admits he has no idea where Cas Grace is. I still think he’s stalling and lying about its existence, though. He’s got something up his sleeve. He always does.

Dean says the people following Charlie are called The  Stein Family, a seriously old family of sorcerers and witches. He also admits the book is, itself, evil and has been calling to him. That it wants to be used. But the price for using the book will be extremely high. Sam says he doesn’t care. He won’t lose Dean again. He can’t.

Dean is good enough to remember what Sam said he wouldn’t do last season. And he’s right to say it because this is how the two of them keep getting into trouble and breaking the world. It’s their complete inability to let each other go, that keeps going horribly wrong.

Metatron challenges Cas about what he’s going  to do with his life. He then works a spell on Cas that weakens Cas enough for him to make an escape, with one of the demon tablets he’d hidden, earlier.

Charlie asks what Dean meant and Sam  has to come clean about last season’s events and how he hurt Dean’s feelings  as a result. (That is not a debate that’s ever going to happen on this site.) Charlie calls them the Dread Robber  Pirates of Hunting and Sam confesses he loves this life and he can’t do it without his brother. He needs to tell Dean everything he just told Charlie. Of course he won’t do that because they are both complete lunkheads, who need a good, sharp smack. From Bobby, ideally.

Metatron escapes. Cas takes his  grace back and it is awesome. He was very powerful, beautiful moment, but it’s a bittersweet. Those sad, burnt looking wings, that shadow upwards, on the light of his grace, are not even worth showing off. They’re the wings of The Fallen.

Dean, having stormed out of the cabin, is confronted by the Steins in a convenience store. They have Dean’s knife but know not to use it on Dean because they know about the Mark. The standoff ends in a shoot out and the Steins pursue Dean to the cabin. Dean  orders Sam to burn the book and  Sam appears to do that, but remember what happened last time Dean gave that instruction?

Back at the bunker, Charlie and Cas meet for the first time. Huzzah! It’s a great moment. Dean shows up with beer and pizza and they have a party. Dean laughs a lot. Sam just looks shamefaced throughout becasue the lies from him and Cas flew fast and furious. They didn’t tell Dean about Metatron’s escape or the Book that Sam didn’t actually burn and  his subsequent meeting with Rowena.

Of course not.

So! We can see disaster shaping up for the end. Sam lying about the Book and giving it to Rowena, who is out to avenge herself against Crowley, and now has the power to do it. Metatron now has one of the demon tablets and is on the loose. Dean doesn’t know any of this. Castiel has his Grace back but is no longer welcome in Heaven.

What do you wanna bet that this year’s horrific mistake will belong to Sam, and as always will involve Hell?

Next week:  The Return of Benny! Yay!!! I really missed that warm, Louisiana drawl. Also, he is totally mackin’ on Dean and that’s always fun to watch.

Supernatural : Inside Man

Tonight looks like a really good episode. It  looks fun and dark. Buffy was really the only other show that could get away with that kind of dichotomy. There’s going to be some Bobby-Fu, along with Castiel. I’m not a huge Cas fan, as I’ve said before, but it’s been a while since we’ve seen him do more than stand around and look angelic, so it’s time. ( Okay! I miss him, alright?)

Also, all the  separate stories are beginning to collapse into each other tonight. Rowena and Dean get to hook up. Sam and Castiel, a dynamic I’ve geen itching to see more of, will have an adventure together.

Unfortunately, there will be some Meta-Booger, too. I really hate that character, but he’s great for the show, so we’re stuck with him, until the writers figure out where they want to send him. (Please Jeebus, don’t let Rowena and Metatron meet! Please!)

So strap in!

Sam and Castiel are holding a seance to contact Bobby, who is sitting in heaven, drinking some fine whiskey and listening to Kenny Rogers’ The Gambler. I like that song. I don’t feel an ounce of guilt about knowing all the lyrics.

Flashback to : Dean has nightmares. Sam runs to his room, gun drawn, and observes while Dean clutches the Mark, screaming his name, in the night. Dean then lies to him later about how well he slept. Sam, in turn, lies  about going to see some obscure French film, with mimes. He’s actually made plans with Castiel. I get the impression that Dean knows he’s lying and has plans of his own.

Sam meets with Cas and tells him Dean is getting worse. I really had no idea what that meant, but looking back on season nine, Dean is in the exact same situation he was in then, when he didn’t have the First Blade.

The Mark will make him sicker, until he dies. Again.

And turns into a demon. Again.

Sam is frantic to stop this cycle as he may not be able to save Dean a second time and forewarned is fore-armed.

Rowena is painting sigils on her body when Crowley makes the mistake of  walking in on her. Since she hasn’t spoken to him, for several days, he’s naturally suspicious. She says she has a date with a guy named Trent. An obvious lie. Who the Hell dates a Biggersons employee named Trent?

Dean is trying to cadge a hunt with a guy named Rudy, but no luck. He looks in the mirror. He lies to himself about his health. He is not okay. He decides to go get drunk.

Apparently, Cas is banned from heaven so he has to beg to get in. The guardian host, now occupied by Hanna, manages to suss out their plan to ask Metatron for help, to get rid of the Mark. Hanna won’t play, so they’ll have to break him out.

The Inside Man for their little Angel-Heist? Bobby Singer.

Rowena is trying to find out where Crowley was being held by the Winchesters, when he called Hell. Unfortunately, this introduces us to the only conscientious demon in all of Hell. The Blood Phone Operator.

Dean needs to stay away from bars and all alcoholic beverages, but that ain’t gonna happen. What do you wanna bet that a fight breaks out, and Dean kicks ass, after he drunkenly challenges a gang of Frat boys, to a game of pool?

To contact Bobby, Sam and Cas need a genuine psychic, Oliver Price, who already knows they’re coming. Castiel totally destroys Oliver’s atheism when he announces he’s an Angel and that heaven has a jail. Sam produces Bobby’s old trucker cap, as the personal item that will be used to call him. I had no idea he still had it. I’d forgotten all about that thing and I’m surprisingly moved by its reappearance.

The tension, in the bar, begins to amp up, as Dean pretends to be too drunk to play pool and ups his bets, the little, bow-legged shark. He is totally hustling them. It’s a joy to watch.

And,  there’s no need for a bar brawl because Rowena shows up.

Dean sees flashes of his demon face, in a bathroom mirror, after he takes a break from duping young rubes.

Its so good to see Bobby again! Cas explains to him that the Angels don’t like souls wandering about freely, so he’s going to have to be good, if he’s going to find a door, to let Castiel in, so Cas can kidnap Metatron.

We do get a bar-brawl, after all,  care of Rowena,  after she casts that same  animal spell on the Frat boys and sends them after Dean. He subdues them, then has some sharp words with Rowena, after the other spell she tries to cast on him with her body paint, fails.

I won’t repeat Bobby’s lines. He gets some really choice ones, too. You’ll have to go watch the episode. I’m having nostalgia problems. Just moment…I’m a little verklempt! <Sniff!>

I’m okay now.

Rowena, covering herself with bloody cuts, now goes to Crowley and claims the Dean did it, in an effort to manipulate Crowley. He tells her about the curse of The Mark of Cain. She claims she can find a way to remove The First Curse. Her manip doesn’t seem to be working, as she tries to get Crowley to hurt Dean on her behalf. She  gives him an ultimatum, I knew was coming, sooner or later. It’s either her or the Winchesters.

Bobby is out. (Cue Mission Impossible theme music.) He’s released all of the nearby souls from their personal paradises and causes a riot. The souls, apparently, are revolting. Hilariously, the Angels are totally ill- equipped to handle their little ghost riot. Bobby gets the door open in the melee and Cas jumps in.

Crowley confronts Dean. He just asks Dean about what happened over drinks. Crowley’s has a tiny umbrella and pitchfork in it. (Nice touch!) He tells Dean what Rowena said about the curse and his life. Dean tells him he has gone soft and suspects it’s the human blood. (I agree.) He tells Dean he supports her because she’s his blood, his family. Dean tells him what family really is and that Rowena ain’t it. Once again, he’s influencing Crowley, to the good. Offering the same advice that Bobby once gave him. Not because he wants something from Crowley, but for Crowleys own good.  In other words, treating him like family.

Bobby, surprised, refers to Metatron as a Fraggle. He retorts with a colorful rejoinder about Cas, calling him the B-Team. Did I tell you I really hate that smug little bastard? Cas wraps him up and takes him to Sam.

Then he slits Metatron’s throat and takes his grace!

Holy Fuck!

I didn’t see that coming. Good for you, Cas! That’s our ruthless badass!

Metatron, now humanized, says its old God-level magic, from Lucifer’s time and he can’t undo it. His “river source” remark was just him spewing crap. He offers Cas his grace back, though.

Crowley kicks Mum out of the house. He is awesome! He raps like Smaug. He’s the King of Hell, baby!

Well, now Rowena has one more person to take revenge on. And just like that, the show has created two or more, brand new storylines, from the previous ones. Somebody’s got the writers in check this season. We’ll see if they can nail the dismount in the finale.

Sam returns to the Bunker to find Dean none the worse for wear. They lie to each other about their adventures that day. Sam goes to his room to read the note Bobby wrote to him, where he implores Sam to tell Dean what he’s done and doing. The rest you’ll have to hear  for yourself. I’m certain it will have you in tears, too.

This episode was very rich. It was everything I was hoping to get tonight. Let’s go over this again.

The return of Bobby Singer.

Crowley and Mommy part ways.

Rowena could be the key to curing Dean.

Metatron is now completely human.

Sam is still committing dubious behavior to save Dean. He’s right back where he was at the beginning of the season, with the same dilemma that ended season nine. This was all very neatly done. Essentially, what we will have is a kind of Groundhogs Day version of season nine, where Sam gets to do it all over again, but make different choices. This  time, however, in his favor, he has a mended relationship with his brother and full knowledge of what’s going to happen. Oh yeah, we also have two extra players on the board, Metatron and Rowena. They are the  wild cards in this scenario.

This was an excellent episode. There was a lot of forward movement and a few surprises, which is my favorite part of watching this show. It’s not just the plots I see coming,but the plot twists that I never would  have predicted, that make this show worth watching. I also got to watch Bobby being his usual acerbic self. Jeebus, but I miss him so much! And we all got to see Cas be a ruthless BaMf. Again.

This episode is definitely going on my favorites list.

ETA:  One of the reasons it’s going on my favorites list, is the scene where Sam tells Dean he’s going to see a movie about a mime , that’s  a cockroach. If Dean had been paying attention he would’ve realized this was a lie, because mimes are too much like clowns and Sam is scared of those. He then tells Dean to stay out of his room. The next time we see Dean he’s in Sam’s  room, pranking  him by putting things under his mattress, taping his phone, and corrupting his toothbrush by rubbing it under his arm.

Its  also a nice change to see where Sam and Cas are in their relationship, considering that didn’t even want to touch him him when they first met. Now, that’s growth.

It’s a bittersweet moment to see they’ve gotten to the point where the brothers can play pranks on each other, again.

Supernatural : Paint It Black

Tonight’s episode seems to be a stand alone, so it will be interesting to see how this will play into this season’s themes of the Mark of Cain, family, forgiveness of past misdeeds and a certain amount of feminism, that’s been on display, as well.

The past few episodes, while not great ones, have been very good at weaving all of these themes, into the individual episodes, whether they’re mythology heavy or not and this is to the good. It makes  the season feel cohesive, as if the writers have an agenda and a point to make. It also helps because then the end of the season doesn’t feel as if it was something tacked on and out of left field.

Okay, I’m back!

This isn’t going to be my usual recap. I’ll just list some thoughts and ideas I had about this episode.

Dean insists on taking cases as a way to ignore his problems with The Mark, while Sam remains preoccupied with figuring out what to do about it. This is the best I’ve seen the two of them behave towards each other, in some time. Their relationship isn’t toally mended. They still tiptoe around each other, just not as much as they used to. They’re still getting used to each other again and they’ve made significant inroads to normalizing this. It felt good to watch them bonding and bickering, very much like they used to do.

I really liked this episode, mostly. Where I got bogged down, was during the scenes where the ghostly nun was telling the living nun her sad, romantic story and we saw some flashbacks. The flashbacks were lovely, by the way, but her story was rather cliche. Maybe that’s the point. I know I got bored watching that part and here’s why. I’m thoroughly sick and tired of Hollywoods insistence on the artist/model falling in love trope.

I was once an art student myself. Not once did I ever hear of any of the other students falling in love with any of the models or vice versa, but this seems to be a popular stereotype of artists and painters. Hollywood likes this idea because it can’t conceive of any situation in which someone might be naked in front of another human being and not have sex be the result. For most painters, models are not people-people, they’re not even sexual objects.  In an art class, they’re  just bodies, made up of shapes and lines and angles, and sexual activity is the farthest thing from your mind, when you’re painting and drawing it.

I was able to figure out pretty quickly,  that the nun was a ghost. I was only confused as to how she got into the church. I was also able to figure out, pretty quickly, that it was her painting, that held the ghost. So, I’m going to take a wild guess and say that this was another episode where the plot was just a hanger, to focus our attention, on the discussions that Dean had, during the show.

I was hoping we’d get Dean into one of those confessional booths and I was not disappointed. Just when I thought his confession might be done, and that the priest’s eyeballs were about to roll right out of his head,  the writers wowed me with Jensen’s beautiful monologue about Dean’s fear of death. It was heartbreaking, lovely and  cements my opinion, that the writers are fully on point this season. In fact, all of the dialogue, this episode, was especially well written.

Also, this is the most feminist season we’ve ever seen on this show. True, there’s still only one recurring female character but the writers are nailing its depiction of women this season. I especially enjoyed the two women in this episode.  We have two named women, sharing their stories and feelings.  They have backstories and character arcs, even if one of those arcs is the cliche of the jilted lover! And most importantly, they did not make the nun an abstinence joke. I was waiting for it but Dean tiptoed right by it, when she challenged him about making fun of her.

Also, Dean was looking especially vulnerable and Sam’s hair wasn’t as annoying as it was last week. These are good things

.

Sam was driving on their way back to the Bunker and since this is a pretty rare event, I think the writers are probably trying to tell us something, for the rest of the season. That it will be Sam calling the shots, plot wise. He’s going to be in charge for a while and making some major decisions that will play out for the next six or seven episodes, I hope.

I liked that Sam explicitly disobeyed a direct order from Dean earlier, which  resulted in saving Dean’s life. Had he burned the nun’s journal, he would not have found out, that it was the painting that the ghost was attached to. Sam made a call that went against what Dean wanted and it played out to the good. Take note of this event for later because I think it might have some bearing on how the end of the season, and the MoC, plays out. Remember, last episode, Dean explicitly stated that Sam shouldn’t bother looking for a clue. This episode Sam says he’s not going to obey that edict.

Well, I hope he’s not.

Oh, and this is a shoutout to the commenters on BellaUk’s website, who insisted that eventually the Crowley/Rowena story line and the Sam/Dean storyline would eventually crash into each other, when I just couldn’t see it. Okay! from now on you guys all get a pass, no matter how wild and crazy I think your theories might be.

Well, the stories are collapsing into each other and the intersection is, of course, The Bunker and the Men of Letters. I love this idea. Lately, we haven’t been seeing much about the MoL and this is a fantastic way to tie these two very separate stories together.

Are the writers setting up Rowena to be this season’s Big Bad? Will she endanger the brothers? Will Crowley make the sacrifice play and save them over his own mother?

Okay, let’s talk about Crowley for a moment. It’s become evident to me that Crowley is increasingly unhappy about his position as King of Hell. He often appears tired. Not tired as in exhausted, but tired as in sick of being in his position, sick of the other demons and sick of being in Hell. I think he genuinely loves the Winchesters. If that’s Sams feelings about Dean influencing him, through the blood he was given, I’m unsure. He seems to have the most fun when he’s out of Hell, and on the road with them, however much they don’t like him. I’m looking back on the advice he once gave to Kevin, about staying away from them, and he’s definitely not following it. I think Sam’s blood made him far more human than he’s willing to admit. At some point, he’s going to have to acknowledge his emotional  attachment to them and I wonder what form that acknowledgment will take. Will he, again, choose the Winchesters over his mother as she keeps accusing? Is he really their  bitch, as she claims?

Well, I’ll  stay tuned.

Next week: The return of Bobby Singer!

         

Supernatural: The Things They Carried

Tonight’s episode stars Cole Trenton, played by Travis Aaron Wade. He is very quickly becoming a favorite of mine. Yeah, there’s just a little bit of fangirl swooning over those lovely, blue eyes and soft, Southern drawl.

Yeah,chose are definitely blue.

This episode also features the return of the Khan Worm, that disgusting little creature created by Eve in the episode …And Then There Were None. It’s a talkative little get, so we should all prepare ourselves to hear some uncomfortable truths, I guess.

Also, Sam has a new haircut, again. And yeah, I hate it. It looks really weird.

Supernatural has, once again, moved to a new night.  I think, in the past ten years, it’s been on every weeknight, except Monday, which is hilarious. I don’t care how often the CW moves it about, they’re not going to lose me. I’m going to be there to the end.

Tonight:

A man tortures a woman in Fayettville North Carolina. He hangs her upside down ,slits her throat, and drains  her blood into a bucket he brought especially for the occasion.

Dean comes to Sam with a case, this time. The victim we saw earlier was apparently some kind of Martial Arts Superwoman, who still managed to end up dead. So…case!

In the car, Dean tries to explain to Sam, that it’s time to give up on finding a cure for the Mark and that he needs him to focus on their cases.

Posing as agents, they find that the perpetrator of the crime is dead after having set himself on fire. The third in a string of suicides…and Dean simply cannot resist cake. They  talk to the killer’s wife, who paints a completely different picture of the man, than that presented by the police.  He was a member of an elite military team. She  tells them he was inordinately thirsty for water and that his skin seemed especially dry. She also tells them that a friend of hers is having the same problem with her husband.

They interview this other woman, whose husband has been missing,  all night and find out that he had many of the same symptoms as the previous man.  On their way out, they meet Cole, who decides to tag along, so he can make sure that his friend, Kit, who served with him in the war, comes back alive. He believes the brothers will just kill him. He Says he has contacts and can get things done in a way that Sam  and Dean can’t.  Sam says to prepare himself to have to kill his friend.

Meanwhile Kit ,the  thirsty friend Cole is trying to help, is assaulting a convenience store refrigerator for water. When the store clerk tries to stop him, he slits his throat and drinks his blood. This is very different from the old Khan worm. That one wasn’t especially bloodthirsty. So it’s some kind of cousin, maybe?

Cole’s contact says that his friend and his team had a  mission to rescue some PoW’s in a cemetery, in Iraq. They were attacked and now Kit and the others are acting rabid. Sam receives an alert about what happened in the store.

I’d  like to point out, that standing next to the two tallest people, in the universe, makes Cole look like a shrimp. He’s probably just average height though. It’s Jared and Jensen,  who are freakishly tall.

Cole doesn’t fool the Winchesters for a second, though. They just wait and follow him. Dean chastises Sam for buying him dinner.

At the cabin Cole tries to talk to Kit and finds evidence of a great deal of mis-doing, and some blood. Kit attacks him and Cole is promptly infected with the Khan Worm.  The brothers arrive too late and Kit escapes.

Now, Dean and Sam have to come up with a way to kill the Worm without killing Cole, who has opted for electrocution, rather than a headshot. That’s entirely understandable.  Dean gets out the car batteries and Sam heads out to follow Kit back to his home. If the batteries work then they need to do Kit next.

Cole almost dies but the Khan Worm stays put. Dean decides  that since the Worm likes water, he’ll create a sweat lodge and dry it out of its host. He then  proceeds to drink a bottle of water in front of Cole. Sam manages to subdue Kit and then spends the next hour or so trying to explain the existence of monsters, to his wife,  while Dean and Cole bond. Cole tells Dean to kill him if necessary. But Dean says he won’t do that because Cole is not gong to give up. This is the complete opposite of the advice he gave Sam about himself, earlier.

Kit breaks free and cuts off the electricity, so that Sam has to hunt him through the house, in the dark. He attacks Sam at the same time Cole attacks Dean. Sam wrestles Kit for his own gun, while Dean almost gets infected by a Worm, but the sweat lodge idea works and the Worm is destroyed. But not in time for Kit, who gets a bullet instead.

Sam apologises for what happened to Kit and Cole promises to go home and hopefully never see them again. Dean tries to explain to Sam, that sometimes that’s just what has to happen. Will Sam have to do for Dean, what he had to do to Kit? They don’t want to, but they’re both thinking it.

I  liked this episode. It’s another solid B, on the meter. The most enjoyable thing about it was Cole and Dean trying to dislike each other in the cabin. I hope they become better friends in the future and that we get to see more of Cole. There’s definitley a chemistry there, Dean and Cole have much in common, and Dean obviously admires Cole.  Also,  the brothers need to start building up another network of hunters and friends.

The Khan Worm didn’t impart any truths, as I suspect this one was some sort of mutation, only vaguely related to the original. I do wish it had the power to fix Sam’s hair, though. Oh, did I already  tell you, I don’t like Sam’s hair? Okay! Good.

What’s  also interesting, is the idea of Sam and Dean, moving into Bobby’s position of being the elder statesmen of Hunting. They can teach and mentor, like  Bobby and Samuel did for them, and with the knowledge to be found in the Bunker, run their own team of Hunters, just as the Men of Letters did.

Things come full circle. A new generation is born.