Well, that was quick.
I really expected Supernatural to take its sweet time with the Demon!Dean storyline, but they’ve already cured him of his initial demonness. Its kind of disappointing; I really wanted to see them delve deep into some Winchester conflict through the bluntness and danger of Demon!Dean but why would we do that?
Pretty meh episode, but it had some good parts. It had a lot of really interesting and refreshingly-different bits (or at least they feel different; it’s hard to remember a frickin’ decade of television). Crowley saving Cas showed his desperation; his need to take care of Dean and do something with him shows that, despite his brushing off of his subjects mockery and self-immolation, he is worried. I like Worried!Crowley.
Cas being back in the game is a lovely development in its own right. We all knew that he wasn’t going to die because of lack of grace, one way or another. That’s not how these shows work, that’s not how these networks work. So wasting time trying to elicit an emotional response seems like a show trying to fill space. It’s really frustrating when they do stuff like this. There is plenty of emotional room to explore; or, hell, just put a foot into. Sam and Dean’s f’ed up, bloodless relationship that spins and spins and spins; Cas and Dean wanting more from one another than either is brave enough to admit; or even Hannah and Cas’s clear attraction and similar visions. Just explore something. Don’t drown us in plot that nobody cares about. If they really think that I’ve watched nearly two hundred episodes of this show because I gave a damn about angels and demons then they have lost their minds.
This episode gave me so much of what I love about Supernatural, and yet still drug it down with the typical crap that has been going on since Kripke left. I’ve never been a Kripke truther; never seen the point. But I am starting to miss his version of the show.
Basically, this episode boils down to how committed you are to the show. When I watched it as a fan (and even early on as a professional; just read my ridiculously recappy and slavishly favorable early reviews) it was a much different and much more wilfully blind experience. Now that my perspective has changed, I’ve started to see things I don’t like too much.
But anyways.
There was enough good to keep someone watching, enough bad to make you nervous. The part where it’s revealed that Sam was the one responsible for Lester’s deal with a demon and his eventual demise was lame as hell, especially since it had no teeth considering that he got to go to Heaven anyways. Also, really? Really? They had to make up this nonsensical, farcical, and lazy plot point in order to shake Sam’s tree? There’s nine seasons of material! He once let Lucifer free! He used to drink demon’s blood! One time, he even went to Lucifer’s Cage! We don’t need some convoluted nonsense to hurt Sam; his brother is a demon. Let Demon!Dean do the damage.
But Demon!Dean is no more, for now. He still has The Mark which will sit around like Chekov’s Skin Disease for ten episodes or so while they fiddle around with other stuff. Next week looks like typical Winchester monster-of-the-week fare, so that’ll be fun.
Yeah.
See you next week.
[Photo via the CW]
Follow Us
