I think the producers on the show are messing with us. Nearly the end of the season, only one more episode to go, and they’re pulling out all the stops. We’re building up to major happenings next week, and it looks like major cliffhangers too. And these episodes are so good, the hell-atus is really going to hurt!
Opening scene: We’re going old style with the opening scene: a log cabin in the woods, cute couple inside. He’s looking nervously out the window, she’s saying how much she loves the place. Proper horror movie set-up, except it’s the guy freaking out. “Did you hear that?” “Oooh, maybe it’s a bear!” “NO, don’t go near the window…”
And then, we see why he’s freaking out. I knew he looked familiar! It’s Tommy Collins from Season 1, rescued from the hands/claws, (OK clutches) of the Wendigo by baby Sam and Dean. Ah, those were the days, when Sam had bangs (or a fringe as I’d say), and before Dean’s voice fully broke. They were so young! They say you never forget your first love, well, the Wendigo is that for me. He is the monster that seeded my now full-grown obsession with this show. I was kind of sad that we just saw a small clip of him. There’s poor Tommy, obviously suffering from Post-Traumatic-Monster-Tried-to-Eat-Me-Syndrome, in the woods for a romantic weekend with his girlfriend and a flame thrower. Then, it gets really freaky. With a whimpering , ‘What’s happening to me?’, poor Tommy turns in to this week’s Supernatural squelch. I wonder what the FX guys file that sound under? Head Exploding Effect, Major Blood Spurt Effect, Learn Not to Eat During the Opening Clip of an SPN Ep Effect…
The Boys’ Lair: Back home (they have a home, awwww!), Sam is hitting the case files looking for ways to cure a demon. Dean seems to have eased up a bit on the mothering, and is now sympathizing with him by feeding him warm beer and peanut butter cups. He’s also giving Cas the full on Dean Winchester, “You let me down” treatment. Sam’s been through it before, and he knows it will pass, but poor Castiel is giving his best puppy eyes and getting nowhere. Dean, Dean, Dean *sigh*, when will you learn not to take it all so personally? He’s upset that Cas didn’t trust him with the angel tablet. As for Cas, once again, he thought he was doing the right thing. His only mistake was getting caught-oh, and losing the tablet. Oh yeah, and almost getting killed in the process. Ok, so he made a lot of mistakes, and they’re the same ones he keeps making. For all the monster hunting and angel warfare he’s engaged in, he is still pretty naive. That’s why he needs Dean. C’mon you two, hug it out!
7B Bunker Time (still in the the boys’ lair): The case files lead the boys to a room 7B in the bunker. Seriously, how big is this place? Sam finds the file he’s looking for; the one referred to in the MOL notes as “Weird!!!”, and the envelope contains an old film reel. Time for family film night, Winchester Style. While they’re looking, Dean finds a secret entrance to a dungeon with a devil’s trap, and he’s pleased. After all, every hunter home should have one.
So, as the boys eat popcorn, they watch the movie of a terrified young priest, Fr. Simon, and his colleague, Fr. Max Thompson, performing a ‘new kind’ of exorcism, back in 1954. It’s classic B movie stuff, shaky hand held camera, black and white, sound of the reel whirring around, and is being filmed by Josie Sands, who we later came to know after she was possessed by Abaddon. This exorcism involves incantations with different words, and then Fr. Max cuts his hand and places it over the demon’s mouth. I’m guessing by their reaction that the vessel lying dead on the floor with her chest split open, and the demon released into the world, was not the result they were looking for initially. How’s the popcorn now, guys? See, now you know how we feel!
On discovery that Fr. Simon is still alive, the boys set off to find him. He explains that Fr. Max was trying to cure the demon – cue gasps of amazement and disbelief! Seriously, that just fits in so neatly, but I’m happy to go with it. This is all the Winchester legacy/destiny thing after all, so things do have to fall into place sometimes. Fr. Max’s belief was that the demon was merely a twisted soul, once human, but ravaged over time. By cleansing the soul, you cure the demon. Simple!
Back to Cas: In the meantime, Castiel has gone on a supply run, and is proof that angels and mini-marts don’t mix. As he tries to make Dean love him again by buying him porn and beer, he crushes eggs, knocks over shelves, and terrorizes the shop assistant over their lack of pie. Metatron’s appearance, and insistence that he puts down the virgin, puts a stop to the shopping trip.
It’s the first time that Cas and Metatron meet. Sorry, Marv. He’s Marv in public. Marv just wants to meet up for coffee and crepes and talk about home. Catch up on what’s going on because he’s been out of the loop. OK, seems fine so far…
Turns out good ol’ Marv has been in heaven, crawling through celestial nooks and crannies, he says, to sneak a peek. As we all know, things aren’t good. Apparently, Naomi isn’t in charge, but is one of many factions still vying for control. Cas still feels responsible for the destruction of order in heaven, and he feels guilty for losing the tablet and for betraying his friends…and for letting everyone down. Oh, honey, it’ll be okay. If only he could make up for all his mistakes…hang on, Marv has a great idea! Call a ‘family meeting’ for everyone in heaven, get them all into a room together, and talk it out. Only thing is, they’ll have to be locked in there. You know, the gates of Heaven will have to be closed. Mmmhmm, sure thing, Marv, you have everyone’s best interests at heart after all.
Bunker Time Again: We move to the boys going through the last of Fr. Max’s things. He audio taped all the exorcisms he performed, including the last one, done two days before something ripped him apart. I really love the MOL bunker, and with the boys sitting in the War Room, the panel of old data banks behind them, and us seeing grainy B&W footage of the exorcism. It’s just gorgeous. Sorry, total offshoot there, but love the flow of the 50’s vibe. Fr. Max was injecting the demon with his own blood, purified by having just been to confession, and then questioning him over and over, about how it felt to eat the children of the man he possessed. The answers start at ‘Orgasmic’, but eventually, after 8 hours he apologizes and wonders why he did it. The incantation doesn’t kill this one. Instead a pure light, like the one the angels give when they die, goes through him, and he is left a man. He CURED a demon!
OK, so Dean decides to road test this exorcism. Great idea. There’s no mention of where they’re going to get the blood though. I mean, it has to be Sam’s blood, right? He’s being cleansed by the trials, so it must be pure. Dean is many, many things, but pure? I doubt it. #PUREMAN for sure, though.
Cas and Marv: As for Cas and good ol’ MetaMarv; caramel crepes are go, and all seems good with the world. Marv is selling Cas his plan, how it’s going to help Heaven heal, and prevent unnecessary bloodshed on Earth. After all, he just wants to help. Obviously, he can’t do it all alone, he needs a warrior. He needs Castiel, and as luck would have it, he knows the tasks to be completed to close the gates of Heaven, no angel tablet required. He is just great, isn’t he? So knowledgeable, so concerned, so helpful. The fact that he’d be a hero in Heaven is just the icing on the cake, no hidden agenda here. So, they need to kill a Neiphilim, the offspring of a human and an angel. Oh, hello pretty waitress! What’s that, Marv, she’s one? Never. The only one in existence, you say? Imagine that. An abomination? A tad harsh, perhaps, but he’s entitled to his view. Cas has to kill her, rip her heart out. Now, Castiel, that inner voice you’re hearing telling you she is innocent and doesn’t deserve to die isn’t your conscience. No, it’s us, the viewers, screaming at the TV. Don’t do it! Don’t trust Marv!
Sam, Dean, and an Exorcism: So, if you had to test out a new exorcism spell, OBVIOUSLY, you’re going to jigsaw puzzle back together one of the strongest demons you’ve ever encountered, right? Like I said, classic horror movie stuff. How much of this episode did I spend shouting, “No! That is not a good idea!?” Well, basically, most of this scene. First, they sew Abaddon’s head back on, in some abandoned warehouse. Let’s keep in mind they now have a dungeon, with a massive Devil’s Trap and chains with sigils on them, to keep ‘demons on a leash’ as Dean said. But no, some massive old building in the middle of nowhere will suffice, and they won’t consecrate the ground until after they reanimate her. Really, it’s like they missed out the basics here. They do, however, think to chop off her hands. Interesting! It’s not every day that you hear someone threaten to stump people to death. Turns out Abaddon knows all about the curing ritual too, and is the one who killed Fr. Max back in ’58. So, just as they’re about to get going, Crowley calls Sam on his mobile. Yes, really, Crowley. Abaddon is disgusted the former salesman is now the King of Hell. Is this season all about vengeance for the civil servants of Heaven and Hell? Naomi bristled at being called a pencil pusher by Crowley, and MetaMarv says he used to be part of the typing pool. Hmm, don’t underestimate the admin staff, people. Just ask her:
Classic mistake, again. The boys decide they’d better take Crowley’s call in private, and they leave Abaddon alone. Most powerful demon they’ve ever encountered, and they leave her alone. Not only that, but they also leave her hands within arms’ reach (Ha-ha! See what I did there?) She takes the opportunity to summon her hands. Clearly, they’ve seen the Evil Dead II, and behave accordingly, crawling over to her, removing the Devil’s Trap bullet from the roof of her mouth, reattaching themselves, and BINGO!, she’s free. Maybe she should keep them as removable entities. They seem very handy! (Sorry). I mean, we could all use a helping hand once in a while (OK, I’ll stop now).
Cut to Crowley: Meanwhile, Crowley is being just downright mean. Turns out he’s the one responsible for poor Tommy Collins’ internal combustion, and he’s not finished yet. Time for Jenny Klein, the former witches’ secretary to be burned, literally. Having given them an address, the boys arrive to find her overdone in her own oven. Crowley calls again to inform them that he plans to kill everyone they’ve ever saved; one every 12 hours until the Demon Tablet is returned. Turns out the Supernatural books aren’t only going to be the Gospel of Sam and Dean; they are handy research for the King of Hell, too. With a hotel address in Indianapolis, and 57 minutes to go, Sam and Dean do their best racing across town, to find that the hotel room is occupied by Sarah Blake. Sarah, if you don’t remember her, was the first girl after Jessica to turn Sam’s head. However, they never got beyond kissing, and therefore, she seemed to escape the curse of sleeping with Sam Winchester and dying. Can’t help thinking there’s worse ways to go, but anyway…
Castiel and MetaMarv follow the waitress. As she turns and begs them for her life, Cas is clearly considering letting her live. Marv, however, is having none of it. So, she fights back, and she’s pretty good! Just as she has Marv at the throat over his racist remarks, Cas slays her by putting an angel sword through her throat. Trial one done. Oh, Cas, this is not going to go the way you want!
Countdown on, the boys demon-proof the room and are prepped to fight anything that comes looking for Sarah. With 16 minutes to go, she and Sam play catch up. She’s a Mom now and engaged. Sam says he’s happy for her (awww), but nothing’s really changed for him. Sarah doesn’t agree. She thinks he seems more focused and confident. Just as she tells him his old hair was better, (duh), Sam’s phone rings with Crowley counting down from 10 to 1. Poor Sarah hits the floor, suffocating. Sam and Dean run around the room, trying to find a hex bag, as Crowley verbally rips them apart. Man, he is mean, really hitting where it hurts. He is trying to pull apart everything they’ve done, so that they’ll submit and give him the Demon Tablets. He’s not letting any more demons near them, but will go on killing innocents until he gets his way. Not only that, but the evil son of a witch has hiding the hex bag in Sam’s phone, which they only find after Dean hurls it at the wall in frustration after Sarah dies.
Poor Sam, he’s distraught. Crowley won’t let any demons near them, and they can’t complete the Third Trial without one. Dean won’t have it, though. “We’ll kick it in the ass, like we always do.” Yep! I believe it, but does Sam?
The Season Finale is next week and the ducks are in a row for one hell of an ending. I cannot wait…but then it will be over for MONTHS, so maybe I can wait a little.
Written by: Naomi (@gizmolg13)
Team Teen Supernatural Dramas 