“Supernatural” Episode 10.18, “Book of the Damned.” Starring Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, and Misha Collins; Guest Starring Curtis Armstrong and Felicia Day; Written by Robbie Thompson, Directed by P.J. Pesce.
I rarely peak ahead when it comes to this show, beyond the regular “next week on” clips that is. So what a delightful surprise to know that 10.18 is a Robbie Thompson episode! His work is always high on my awesome list – so did “Book of the Damned” break my tenth season slump? Read on to find out!
The show opened with Charlie Bradbury, everyone’s imaginary BFF, on the lam from some Cajuns. She’s got a sword and a book, and if that isn’t a great D&D set up I’ll eat my shoe. The Stynes of New Orleans are after Charlie because she’s located the Book of the Damned – an ancient book printed on nun skin full of coded ancient Sumatran spells. Uh, actually, again, great D&D material there. Charlie is not giving up the book though, as she believes it can cure Dean Winchester of his Mark.
Castiel and Metatron are road trippin’ it “Midnight Run” style on a quest to retrieve Castiel’s promised grace. Surprising no one, Metatron is a terrible road trip buddy. It seems pretty clear that he’s taking advantage of Castiel’s even temperament, but more on that later.
Sam and Dean direct Charlie to a safe house in Des Moines, but upon their arrival Dean realizes the Book is calling to him and fears that it will only enhance the effects of the Mark, not reverse them. Sadly, neither Sam nor Charlie is skilled enough in ancient Sumatran for an immediate translation. So when the Stynes arrive at the safe house to reclaim their stolen property, Sam appears to take Dean at his word and tosses their only hope for a cure into the fire.
This was a really solid episode, at least if we’re grading on a Season 10 curve. I had a couple issues, but the episode was paced perfectly and just a lot of fun to watch, and that’s all I really ever want. I’m going back to the old format, just for giggles, and below there shall be spoilers!
The “eh”:
- I think it was pretty clear from early on in their scenes together that Metatron was going to dupe Cas. It definitely came as no surprise when it finally happened, but the scenes worked so well due to the superbly written banter performed by actors with surprisingly good chemistry. Curtis Armstrong is no stranger to the obnoxious agitator role, and it just bounced perfectly off Misha Collins’s stoic, 400% done angel.
- I really wanted to hear Cas say “poop,” and it just didn’t happen. That’s kind of a bummer.
The “DAMMIT”:
- I’m beating the dead horse metaphor with a dead horse. Sadly, so is the show. Can we please have some sort of conflict that doesn’t involve the Winchesters lying to each other? Please? I don’t even want to write about it anymore. Gah. Long story short, Sam didn’t really burn the book. But that does bring me to my second “dammit.”
- If you regularly read any of my reviews, you’ll know I frequently make predictions, are they are right exactly none of the times. None. But you guys. Seriously. Tuesday at lunch I told a coworker that I figured Rowena would be the one to have to remove the mark. I swear to God, I called it! I’ll totally get her to corroborate in the comments.
The “Fantastic”:
- Charlie summed up 213 episodes of “Supernatural” in one monologue, and it was done with complete sincerity and lack of snark. And it was glorious.
- Shots of Castiel’s wings make me want to break bottles against the wall while screaming “YES.”
- The little hints of musical foreshadowing were just delightful. Metatron’s guilt-free worship of “Ironic” spelled out his plan to ruin Castiel (though we didn’t really need it pointed out later in the show). “The Boys are Back in Town” was a great little segue to Cas’s returning grace, and to the three Hunters being in business together again. The very brief mention of “Sussudio” might be a call to Rowena, but I’m not going on book with that one yet.
The “I actually whined ‘awwwwwwww!’”:
- Charlie says “frack.” Man. I miss BSG like a motherfracker.
- Sam and Dean have never been to a beach? Insert weepy face doodle meme here. God, that’s so sad. You think they’ve ever been to King’s Island?
- Charlie meeting Castiel is one of my favorite things ever, and I can’t even really explain why. Maybe because within minutes she utilized one of my favorite movie quotes, or maybe just because Charlie is one of my favorite all time characters. And the obligatory “Laughing with Beers and Pizza” scene was so bittersweet – one could almost forget that the brothers have never squished sand between their toes – but then we went back to sour puss Sam and his dirty little secret.
Once again, Robbie Thompson delivers. This was a solid hour of fun television with enough plot twists to make both excited and ready to brace for the pain of the finale. Which, by the way, is exactly how I expect to feel with only five episodes left in a “Supernatural” season. But hey – Booger’s got the missing Demon tablet and Scottish Red Head was just gifted a book of spells written on nun skin. What could possibly go wrong?