Friday, April 17, 2015

Supernatural, Season 10,. Episode 18: Book of the Damned



Charlie has something in her bag – something ominous (yet sexy) men with nifty tattoos and sexy accents want back – and that have been following her for a long time to get it. She escapes – with a bullet wound.

On to a wounded Metatron being the worst possible passenger. The car is driven by Castiel who is looking more and more grim the longer Metatron babbles. There’s something about Castiel wishing a slow death on someone that is immensely appealing. He tells Sam all about his urge to murder in between discussing the Mark of Cain – and Sam trying to hide the fact from Dean. But Dean is, for once, willing to talk about the Mark and tells Sam what Rowena told Crowley.

This also means recapping Sam on what Dean did on his holidays

Charlie calls for help since she’s wandering around with the book of the Damned (a book that can undo damnation which is awfully useful with the Mark) and a bullet wound.

They ride to the rescue and Dean is all adorably excited and back to himself (and Sam’s all gleefully happy for him. Awwww). They meet up with Charlie who has the ickiest of all books and Dean reacts with maximum creepiness towards it. Keeping him away from the book is a good plan. They also keep the book in a warded box to stop the big bads finding it

The big bads would be the Stein family who did lots of magical naughtiness back in the day. The same research also makes it clear that using the book also causes big bad consequences

So? Since when have the Winchesters ever worried about the big bad consequences of their actions? In the early seasons we virtually ended every season with a “oh look, the Winchesters unleashed hell” moment.

This time Dean wants them to destroy the book especially since it is calling to the Mark and when evil calls to evil bad stuff happens. Charlie and Sam are less fans of this idea since they have no other answer to remove the Mark. They’re not losing Dean – especially not Sam (which Dean throws back in his face because Sam hasn’t always sang that tune) and Dean refuses to let the book fall in the wrong hands. His.

Dean leaves and Charlie questions why Dean pointed out that Sam was willing to leave Dean before. Charlie reflects that such terrible choices and painful experience seem to be a staple of Hunter lives – and how her own life has changed so much from what she hoped it would be. Sam reflects both on how he was always telling himself that one day he’d stop hunting and return to his “real” life- but this is his real life now and he can’t do it without Dean.


Dean goes shopping for snacks and happens to go to a shop where the Stein guy has murdered the shop assistant. Stein and his goon grab Dean and he has a proper evil exposition moment. Dean fights back, Stein escapes and goon gets repeatedly shot – but he’s resilient.

As the Steins converge on the cabin everyone’s hiding in, Dean insists they burn the book. Fight scene commence! In which the Stein guys end up dead, very quickly, and the book ends in the fire.

Back to Castiel and Metatron where Metatron is absolutely loving the sensory and sensual rush of being human – and is stunned that Castiel doesn’t miss being human because of it. He also wants to be Besties. Castiel wants to scoop out his brain with the power of his glare alone. While in a diner an angry cupid attacks them – but Metatron saves Castiel’s life

This changes nothing and Castiel is still happy to torture Metatron who has, wisely, taken steps against the secret of Castiel’s hidden grace being discovered by torture. They go to try and find Castiel’s grace while Metatron mocks Castiel’s ridiculous idea of kinship among angels and asks a very pertinent question – just who or what IS Castiel now? And what does he actually intend to do? These are clearly big sensitive doubts that Castiel doesn’t want poking.

At which point Metatron completes one of the anti-angel spells in his own blood, leaving Castiel gasping on the floor. He then picks up the demon tablet where he stashed it and Castiel retrieves his Grace

Metatron decides to leave as Castiel re-powers. Complete with awesome – but raggedy – wing effects.

He returns to the Winchesters feeling guilty and praising Sam for destroying the book. And this is the first time Castiel and Charlie meet! She’d also like to see Castiel use mojo to heal Dean – which he can’t, but he can heal her. Castiel also lies to Dean about Metatron because… yeah.

Pizza and beer time – and Sam angsting because he faked burning the book. Which he decides to take to Rowena

ROWENA?!

This is the worst idea ever in the history of Supernatural.




Another Charlie episode! This always leaves me slightly leery. I love Charlie, but am also saddened that she appears so rarely (and, in doing so, feels like the token attempt to try and counter how very straight male this show is) and dread that this could be the inevitable episode where she dies so Dean can be tragically sad over her body (and if you don’t think that day is coming you have not been watching Supernatural). When Charlie is around her episodes are usually… whacky, almost non-canon. They remind me of comics writers putting gay characters in “alternate worlds”

Which is why I’m especially intrigued by this episode and Charlie being involved in a main plot line – is Charlie going to be around for longer? More often? More involved?  Is she going to hang around more? And if this is the case is her death all the more inevitable (who wants to lay odds on Dean going dark side and murdering Charlie?)

I also quite like that Metatron, magicless, not particularly physically adept, is still dangerous. Ultimately, Metatron’s power comes from his vast knowledge and formidable intellect.

I was glad to see Sam being the one with the big emotional revelations for once, since it’s usually Dean quietly self-destructing in the background. We’ve always seen Sam as one who has been willing – eager – to give up the fight. He always clung to the hope that he could leave one day, that it was Dean that kept forcing him back and holding him to life as a Hunter. But over the seasons and now clearly said, Dean may be the force that kept Sam hunting but now Sam is, irrevocably, a hunter he’s also the force that keeps Sam being Sam and being in the life he now lives. It’s a really nice arc when we consider Sam’s growth as a character, the times he’s tried to end the fight – either by becoming “normal” or by passive suicide and what that now means.

Can someone explain why this episode didn’t just go :
“Rawr we’re the Stein family!”
“I have the Mark of Cain… I killed Cain himself.”
“Aaaaaaaargh?!” *horrible squishing noises and blood spatter and Charlie making a quip about blood stains*