Tonight’s “Supernatural” could easily provide a very short review. We have angst, quips, action, and mystery to talk about, and after naps those are like my four favorite things, but this episode could fairly be summed up as follows: Good GAWD that was amazing!
The episode opened on a wild pitch; a man with a mustache that would turn Sam Elliot green destroyed two demons. Not so bizarre, save that this took place during the Cilvil War. Flash to the present where Sam and Dean are currently on a break. Sam remains at the Bat Cave with Cas, which is a brilliant set up for some much needed development of their relationship. Cas and Dean have always had the more profound bond, but truly Cas and Sam would have the more likely friendship. Cas discovers that Gadreel has left behind some residual grace in Sam’s body and the two try to extract it to use in a summoning spell. Meanwhile, Crowley invites himself along on Dean’s solo mission to find Gadreel and suggests a side stop. He needs Dean’s help to find the only weapon in existence that can kill a Knight of Hell. Dean agrees, and yea tho’ they were not of the measure we expected, hijinks did in fact ensue.
Let’s start this week off with a tally. Here are the number of times:
- I actually hollered “BURN” – two.
- I started to holler “BURN” but it was actually really painful so instead I just said “ahhh, eargh, ouch” – one.
- I said “the Mariana Treeeeeeench” in a Nathan Explosion voice: two.
- My jaw actually quivered like a damn Tiny Toon: one.
- I wished Cain would be a recurring character: totally lost count.
- I pondered the fact that bearing the marks of an angel savior as well as the mark of Lucifer actually makes the idea of Dean Winchester 87% hotter: One. I mean none. That would be weird.
Since that last bullet point deserves a pretty immediate explanation, and since I have been lukewarm on very little in the past two episodes, for now the “meh” category and all its equivalents are officially off the table. We’re skipping straight to …
The “HELL YES.”
- Cain. Not only did “Supernatural” bring in one of the most famous characters in Christian mythology, they strutted in like John Wayne eating a raw steak and completely contradicted thousands of years of the equivalent of written law in the world’s most vocal religion. Balls, y’all. Of steel. Cain, according to this legacy, started out as a hero. He watched his brother falling victim to Lucifer, and volunteered his own soul as tribute if the Devil would just let Abel go to Heaven. So for the next couple millenia, Cain trained Hell’s elite. He was the father of all demons, until one day he found love and decided to destroy all the evil he had created. And as it goes for all monsters in the action stage of reform, his retirement went poorly. His vow to a dead love provided an impressive device, as his reluctance to end the life of even his highest of enemies allowed the magnitude of Crowley’s genius to shine. Abaddon, of course, was the Knight That Got Away, and Crowley needs Cain’s blade as it’s the only weapon that can kill a Knight.
- A mystery… The mark of Lucifer brings a heavy burden. What’s the burden?!!? What’s going to happen? Dean’s already doomed to burn, so it can’t be loss of soul. Why was it all burny at the end of the show? Is Lucifer coming back? This adds heavy weight to an already epic anticipation for each new episode.
The “At Least Once a Week kmc1138 Has to Rant about Genre Television Being Taken More Seriously:”
- The Metaphor. Cain and Abel, in case you’re unaware, are very famous brothers with an incredibly troubled relationship. Sound familiar? Multiple times tonight Cain waxed on the similarities between Dean and himself, and it wasn’t always clear if the comparisons were praise. The episode culminated in Dean being deemed worthy to receive Lucifer’s mark from Cain, thereby being able to wield the weapon that can destroy Abaddon. It presents an interesting paradox based on what we’ve known of Cain and Abel versus what the show revealed tonight. Both versions – Cain as both envious and violent as well as self-hating martyr – apply to the brotherly relationship we’ve watched for nine years. It’s very interesting that I got into this show because it wasn’t a thinker. It was pure release with its humor and horror. In the wrong hands these allegoric moments could have gone horribly awry, so congrats to this creative team on bringing such weighted themes to the show.
The “DAMN This is Fun!”:
- This is some real talk, friends and neighbors – that was probably the best fist fight I have ever seen on network television. Dean versus the demons was fast and clear, with great camera work and choreography.
- I’m greatly enjoying the change in Castiel’s character. While he has been confuddled and disconnected since his appearance, the idiocy and coldness are being left behind. His stint as a human has brought new tones to the character, ones that are not only believable and greatly needed to keep the character fresh but also likable. He is able to connect in a new way, and his heart to heart with Sam in tonight’s episode was the cause of the aforementioned jaw quiver.
And finally, The “Robbie Thompson is a National Treasure”:
- So, you know how I was a bit miffed throughout the first part of the season and would often express my total lack of faith that this season had a point? Well, give Robbie Thompson a blank Word document and 42 minutes of air time and watch the magic happen. “First Born” presented in previews as one of those amazing one-off comedy episodes. I mean, Dean and Crowley? Together? The sitcom practically writes itself. But instead we were given an episode ripe with metaphor and promise.Thompson linked all those seemingly disjointed events into purpose. Dean is flying solo(ish) and will likely experience a life altering event in his side-quest to defeat Abaddon. Sam and Cas are pursuing the Metatron/Gadreel lead, and they all just want to save the damn world. Again. Add to that a possible war between Heaven and Hell with a side of “Lucifer, please?” (but hold the “seriously what about Adam”) and I now see a story that could possibly out-do the epic Season Gr8. It’s also at this point, with no confirmation of further seasons, one starts to worry about endings. And how one might survive the inevitable heart-ripper-outer that will be the “Supernatural” final episode.
Only two more episodes until another hellatus but next week brings the return of Garth, who is in fact my Patronus. I leave you with Crowley’s Quip of the Week, which occurred just before a fightin’-dirty moment that would make Indiana Jones give a smirk of approval: “You’re good. But I’m Crowley.”