“Supernatural” Episode 10.14 – “The Executioner’s Song.” Starring Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Misha Collins, and Mark Sheppard; Written by Robert Berens; Directed by Phil Scriccia.
Oh ho ho, now that – THAT – is how you do genre television. That was a damn fine episode of “Supernatural,” and well worth the wade through a few episodes that, for me, stumbled just a bit.
I’m not even going to try to avoid spoilers this week, so venture forth only if you’ve seen the episode.
The show opened with what is easily one of the coolest scenes in its run. A guard is locking down death row when suddenly a wild Cain appears, and relieves a particularly sassy prisoner of this mortal coil. Worth noting:Tthe award for Most Canadian Guest Star would certainly go to Roman Blomme, who played Timmy Tolliver.
Turns out Cain is on a quest to rid the Earth of the scourge he created by breeding, and if the math is correct that means he’s gonna kill one in ten living humans. I mean, I’m not terribly bible-y so I can only guess that he’s got a little over 2015 years worth of great-grands. If the Duggars keeps going at their rate (21 kids per person per generation) they’d have over five million spawn in just a few generations, so Cain has, like, more than that. I’m a lover, not a mathematician.
Cas knows this has to stop, Sam hopes that a confrontation might give clues as to how to fix Dean, Crowley just wants to hang out, and Dean sees this as his fate. All those months ago, Cain told him that Dean would one day have to put down the Father of Murder, and it would seem that day has come. But will it put Dean over the edge?
I’m just going to say it again, this was such a damn good hour of television. I’m honestly having a hard time keeping my review from just being one big run on sentence. And it went so far beyond just resolving my previous gripes; the cinematography was wild and cool, the score was brilliant and perfect, the performances were on point, and the direction was award worthy. Phil Scriccia, I tip my giant Tervis of Tab to you, my man.
Two scenes in particular are making me lose my shit for Phil tonight. First was the cute little peep from Rowena during the Throne Room scene. She leaned in from out of sight, working on her needlepoint, to offer Crowley some extraneous advice on his governing methods. It was cute and funny, pretty unexpected, and ended up leading into something far more troubling and dark.
Second was Dean’s appearance at the barn. Cain was foolishly suckered into a Demon Trap, and just before the barn door slid shut, Dean appeared to give an emotionless assessment.
It’s times like these that I have a little too much fun, or as others put it “read too much into stuff.” I felt like the scene was a bit of an echo of Rowena’s earlier appearance, and as such might echo her manipulation and greed for power. As it turns out, I might be on the right track here, because the end of the show was a pretty powerful cliffhanger that ended in a somewhat atypical BM. Again, it was the ol’ “you cool?” “YUP FINE NOTHING TO SEE HERE” kind of moment, but this time it was downright scary. I know I caught a look of disgust on Dean Winchester’s face as he clapped Castiel on the back. I know I saw this. Cain prophesied that Dean is living Cain’s life in reverse, and it would end when he killed the demon, killed the angel, and finally ended his own brother’s life. Dean begged for this to be untrue, and upon exiting the barn looked to be very aware and frightened of his possible fate. But that slight foul look when he brushed up against one of his only friends in the world, coupled with Sam’s familiarity with his brother, lets us know that all is in fact not well in Winchester World.
So Cas hid the blade “somewhere safe,” which is probably gonna end in tears just sayin’, and Crowley is back in Hell with mummsy pulling his strings again. I’m very glad that the show made it clear that Crowley knew he was being played all along, and he has in fact become quite a complex character. I also love that Dean’s contact in Crowley’s phone is listed as “Not Moose” and only wish that the contact photo was one of Dean in a giant foam cowboy hat. Where was I? Oh yeah, complexity. The show’s done a great job of making Crowley sympathetic and I do believe that most of the credit goes to Mark Sheppard’s perfect appeal. But I think you might be fibbing if you tell me you didn’t feel a little sorry for him when he returned to Hell, tail tucked, abandoned by hunters and angel. But, I mean, he’s the King of Hell. He was a bottom feeding demon who clawed his way to Crossroads Dealer, and then manipulated his way to the throne. He is literally the biggest dirtbag in the world. So why do we cheer so hard for the other kids to be nice to him? I don’t know, but we do – and the cool kids just don’t listen. So it’s definitely safe to assume that Crowley and Rowena will not be easing the Winchester’s way anymore.
I also have a random lore/semantics question for all the die hard hunters out there: Did the show ever establish that witches are in league with the Devil? I really need to go back and watch the first appearance of a witch on the show because it leads me to ask this question – if they are in league with the Devil, and Lucifer’s in the Pit, why are witches still so badass? And if Crowley is for all intents and purposes the Devil, why do they still crap on him?
I know I’m yammering but I’m still really excited about how good this episode was. And I want to close with one final thought, and then eight hundred words that reiterate said thought.
Timothy Omundson. Right? RIGHT?!!?! That guy is a delight and national treasure and I do not understand why he has not won all the awards. You know how I always spout on about how I hate it when bad guys “act” villainous? He does not do that. He plays his crazy and cold rage with intelligence and a quiet voice. There are no sneers or smirks or weird articulations. He’s damn good at being completely terrifying. Also he has the coolest hair in the history of television and if you disagree with me I will physically fight you. I’m super upset Cain had to be killed, because the character would be second only to Death on my list of favorite secondary characters.
OK, I think I’m done raving. Wait no I’m not – Moore and Ranaldo? A Sonic Youth nod? Well, that’s just fine.
Let’s just all watch it again, right now. We have a two week mini-hellatus before what’s sure to be a punch in the gut, so until then, friends!