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If you have not seen tonight's episode then spoilers are below...be warned.
Brief Recap: This episode was the maiden voyage for new Supernatural writer Robert Berens. And KUDOS to you, Mr. Berens! This was fantastic and good and fantastic and all kinds of superlatives that I reserve for very few. Welcome to our family! Stay and write Castiel forever! (fangirl squeeing ends)
The first part of the episode reveals a suicidal man who is killed by an angel. We will later learn why. The episode was split into two separate but parallel narratives. The bunker side of the story revolved around Sam and Kevin trying to coerce Crowley into helping them translate the symbols Kevin uncovered. The beginning of the episode plays with Dean's resistance to research and that leads into the other main story, the Ephraim murders. After talking to Cas, Dean chooses to leave and help his friend rather than translate obscure languages. Surprise, surprise! The Dean/Cas story centers on the case of the Ephraim Pink Murders! (Side note: A lot of pink and blue in this episode - babies, gender, etc.) Cas is a sales associate at a gas and sip. At this point I'm gonna say that I absolutely LOVED Castiel (or Steve) in this episode. I was glad to see him resenting Dean and being honest about feeling abandoned. He had every right to feel that way. Cas's work ethic is so Castiel too. He does his work as he is supposed to. There was a great sense of continuity in the episode from HumanCas to Kevin's tattoo.
The Ephraim murders reveal another part of the Supernatural mythology - Rit Zien, who take away suffering by turning you into insulation dust if they can't heal you. Castiel notes that they take away the anguish and suffering of angels and now that they have fallen to earth, they are continuing the work. I thought it was interesting that these angels lack nuance and that Castiel reaffirms how difficult it is to understand humanity. On his quest to be normal (and that is a nice parallel to Sam), Castiel agrees to what he think is a date with Nora. It turns out she has the date, but she's pairing Cas with her baby girl, Tanya. (And really? You leave your kid with the guy sleeping in the storage room and who wears a "Where's Waldo?" type striped shirt - you don't need a date, you need a therapist).
The Dean/Cas interactions were cute and the Castiel and baby scene was priceless as he takes a cue from Dean and sings a song, but instead of Smoke on the Water (ha, yes I remember that), Cas sings the Greatest American Hero theme and Berens wins my heart, again. I really liked that Cas was protective of the baby, reminding us of Castiel's innate love for human beings. Unfortunately, Ephraim finds Cas and in a nice soliloquy reams Cas for being both strong and weak. Poor confused Pink Angel. Dean interrupts and in a great team work moment, slides the angel blade to Cas, who kills Care Bear Angel. (I call him this because he makes you explode with colors!) Cas decides to stay in this life and we see him last as he opens up the convenient store.
In the other story Sam and Kevin are interrogating Crowley. If Dean/Cas scenes were comforting (if sometimes awkward) and authentic, then the Kevin/Crowley/Sam scenes were intense and filled with suspense. Although resistant, Kevin agrees to give Crowley his blood to make a call to Abaddon. Crowley won't read the symbols unless he gets a phone call. He's very SVU about it. And the QUEEN OF ALL THINGS THAT BOOKDAL LOVES appears in this episode. Abaddon, who is outside John's storage unit it looks like, taunts Crowley about taking over his hood and fixing it all up nice and without corporate bureaucracy. She's old school Demon, like Run DMC to Crowley's 50 Cent. Crowley decides to help the Winchesters and translates the symbols, but OH NO! Spell is irreversible (and he is so lying). In the final act we see Sam discover a missing vile of Kevin's blood and in a weird and interesting twist, sees Crowley mainlining Kevin-lite like Ewan MacGregor in Trainspotting.
Things I liked:
1. Berens, you have won my heart like a knight on the field. I will give you my handkerchief to carry.
2. Castiel as Steve, who is the best thing ever. I want Steve to marry, open a minimart, and have babies.
3. Crowley's Trainspotting Adventures.
4. Pink Insulation Murder. You'll never look at Pepto Bismol the same way again.
5. Pacing, dialogue, and Castiel being human without Winchesters. All a win for me.
6. No Zeke! Yay! Bookdal is happy.
Things I didn't like:
1. Dean needs to hop off the I am God train so I make decisions for all y'all.
2. Not sure why Abaddon doesn't just kill them all and take over as the star of show
3. Nora has bad taste in men. Look in front of you, girl! Castiel in BLUE with BLUE EYES! And you go off to have the sex with redneck bowler in the pickup.
4. Nora, don't leave children with strange men. I don't know why I have to say this.
5. Breakups on Facebook are not socially acceptable and you should've died, teenage girl stereotype.
Theories of the Week:
Theory, the first: Ardeospina mentioned that perhaps Kevin's blood actually reveals why Crowley is so special. Perhaps he was a PROPHET! And Kevin's blood juices him up.
Theory, the second: We are getting back to some mythology with John Winchester. As was noted by my friend Holly on Twitter, Abaddon was in front of Castle Storage - John's storage place. What is she searching for, huh?
Theory, the third: Crowley is lying about the spell and either (1) he wants the angels to stay on Earth because they will take out Abaddon or (2) the spell entails more than just sending angels back to Heaven and may include something to do with Hell. Share your thoughts, speculations, and other feelings in the space below.
