Supernatural 10.02 Review: “Reichenbach”

So last episode of Supernatural, I was more than a little skeptical about Dean and his character arc. Only one episode later, I am glad to retract that statement.

Supernatural seems to have a clear plan ahead for the Demon!Dean. It seems to know exactly who he is and what he’s about, while still leaving some interesting ambiguity about the character. I am really glad that ended up being the case, at least for now, because I have watched this show for too long to not be skeptical.

But it doesn’t matter. I was wrong (so far). I hope that Demon!Dean continues to be interesting, because god almighty they need to do something about Sam.

Can Sam stop being knocked out? Can he stop being beat up and always being the damsel in distress or just a plot device for Dean’s continued growth? There’s just nothing there for Sam to do except be a side character. I hope that I’m wrong; I hope that I’m jinxing myself like I did with Demon!Dean, because Sam is my favorite character and one that I relate to very strongly. So I hope that I’m wrong.

Aside from all that:

I really enjoyed this episode. I thought it was fun and engaging and got better as it went along. It’s really nice to see someone be actual competition for Crowley in Demon!Dean; Crowley was literally pushed to the floor like a toddler. That was really weird to see. The Winchesters have always succeeded by a combination of luck, bravery, and shortsighted deal-making; their agency always took them to the edge of the world. But now? Dean’s a big boy. He has claws.

And that is so weird. So, so weird. We get to see Dean do work on this poor dude seeking revenge. We get to see him push Crowley around. We get to see him sneer and smirk and generally just do whatever the hell he wants.

AND THERE IS NO GUILT! NONE! No more self-loathing, no more pain. Just Dean doing stuff with no internal emotional consequences. I’ll enjoy it while it lasts, because I suspect they’ll drown us in it if Dean ever gets cured of his demoness.

We also get a recurring villain in the dude who wants revenge. Can’t remember his name, but he was sort of compelling, and it was interesting to see Demon!Dean read him so wrong. Dean thought he would just give up after losing but instead he dug deeper and went looking for another way. So maybe he’ll prove to be interesting.

Castiel’s stuff was also less boring, and the Hannah character didn’t make me fall asleep. Castiel’s refusal to negotiate with Metatron felt like a real step forward, but Hannah is still dangerous and in play. It wouldn’t surprise me if she let Metatron out anyways. Castiel, though, seems like he made peace with his death; that is new, at worst, and cool, at best.

I’m willing to watch this play out. I think it could have potential. Some real conflict between the Winchesters outside of the basic crap we’ve been trundling through for the last nine years is just so appealing. I hope Demon!Dean stays Demon!Dean or at least become Self-Confident!Dean. I hope that Sam gets something to do besides look incredibly sick and chase his brother around. I hope Castiel… does something interesting. Perhaps my hopes are up.

But anyways. I liked this episode. It’s nice to have Supernatural back; as busy as I am, it’s a nice and comfortable hour-long spot for me to enjoy. Hope it’s the same for you guys.

See you next week.

[Photo via The CW]