In Superior, Nebraska we have more corpses and more
infected people and Sam, also infected, tazing one of the infected after
testing his vocal skills and finding he can talk. He then takes him home and
chains him up so they can talk and Sam can learn what he can from his fellow
infected. This interrogation involves pudding.
Turns out the guy has been infected for less time than
Sam – though he’s further along because the disease moves at different rates
for different people (this is true of many illnesses but also a quick
justification for why some people will just drop dead while Sam, no doubt, is
going to drag this out for weeks). Kidnapped guy dies from the plague while Sam
researches
He’s joined by a woman with an excellent singing voice –
she’s a Reaper. The Reapers have a good reason to be angry with the Winchesters
after the whole killing of death thing. She is drawing a line under their
resurrections – the next time a Winchester dies the Reapers are going to “accidentally”
toss out their soul. No afterlife. No resurrection. No more. She also
introduces herself - she’s Billie and she knows he’s dying
Sam heads to the chapel to be mopey with god and appeal
for Dean. He appeals for a sign – and gets horrible images of him being
tortured. Uh-huh. Well that’s a sign I guess
Time for visions and hallucinations as the black veins
grow over his face until he does some research prompted by Billie calling him “unclean
in a Biblical sense”. He then burns himself with holy oil (which they always
have a stash of). It burns out the veins – and cures him.
Time to cue others with holy burning. It’s not a pleasant
process but it works.
Dean takes Jenna and the baby Amarra to Jenna’s
grandmother’s. Said granny is perfectly welcoming in both accepting and not asking
questions. And baby Amarra is telekinetic – able to move things without
touching them. DEMON BABY! BUUUURN IT!
Demon baby makes all the blocks float in a happy demonic game (why has someone not burned the child? Someone call the Charmings, they’re good at sacrificing children) before slamming them into the wall spelling “Feed me” (I’m assuming it eats souls)
Grandma wisely crosses herself and backs out planning to
call a priest. Normally I wouldn’t call a priest for anything but I think
granny has the right idea (though, again, burning the baby may be the wisest course).
Instead Jenna calls Dean (+10 points for ghostbusters reference).
Dean heads back, checking in on Sam before heading off to
help with Demon baby. The priest and exorcist arrives before Dean does – and it’s
Crowley
Crowley the exorcist, who opens with a child abuse joke. He
apparently works with the Catholic church to prevent any rogue possessions – but
he doesn’t think Amarra is possessed by a demon, but something older and more
powerful
Which may now have possessed Jenna – who then kills grandma. Aww I quite liked her. Crowley and Dean go back into the house with snark and Scoopy Doo references (Crowley is Daphne) and Dean sees the Mark of Cain on baby Amarra-who-needs-to-die-by-fire. The baby also likes Dean (as the previous darkness lady said, they’re bound).
Time to see possessed Jenna destroying the ugly crockery –
Crowley tells Dean that Jenna doesn’t have a soul. Because Amarra is hungry and
a growing girl (Amarra grows from being a baby to being a child). Dean
struggles against Jenna until Crowley kills her – because he was bored.
Dean realises he has to kill the baby but Crowley knows
there’s no way that would happen. Crowley decides he’ll take care of it and
when Dean jumps on him he gets thrown across the room. Crowley says what he
should have said seasons ago “I’m not your bloody sidekick.”
Still Dean Winchester is still a Winchester and manages to stab Crowley in the hand with an angel blade. I assume this turns off his powers because we’ve JUST SEEN him use his telekinesis which he now doesn’t use. But evil baby Amarra has gone
Castiel has been kidnapped by his fellow angels Ephraim
and John and can’t answer Dean’s calls. Castiel is worried because the whole
beasty curse thing means he may hurt them. The angels wants to know where
Metatron is. They also object to him appealing to them as brothers or calling
himself an “angel of the lord” because whenever he is called upon to choose between
Heaven and the Winchesters he inevitably chooses Winchesters.
Castiel is rescued when Hannah intervenes (in a new, make
body). Hannah is furious over the use of torture and banishes them both. Hannah
can’t heal Castiel of the curse and Hannah is extra worried because the
Darkness is setting off major alarms in Heaven – and even the angels thought
the Darkness was a myth. Hannah thinks the Winchesters may be the key to
defeating the darkness so needs to know where they are. Castiel isn’t a fool and
realises Hannah set up the whole torture kidnap so Hannah could then play
rescuer – and how the whole angel collective pretty much hates Castiel. Plan
B involves angelic brain hacking (and old tactic Crowley used)
The torture is too much for Hannah who intervenes – and gets
attacked, beaten by Ephraim (angelic aren’t they?) and that combined with the
torture and Rowen’s curse, pushes Castiel over the edge into berserker
strength, killing one angel. Ephraim kills Hannah and, after some more
fighting, Castiel kills Ehraim
How many angels are there anyway? A lot seem to have died over the seasons
The Winchesters finally return to the Winchester Cave where
Dean alludes to the baby becoming a child. When they arrive at the cave they
find Castiel who is looking pretty rough.
Crowley catches up with Amarra and feeds her a whole
family (everything about Crowley is wrong yet awesomely so).
I actually kind of like the angel’s angry rejection of
Castiel – it’s part of the while identity questions that were raised last
season. Exactly what is Castiel? He says “Angel of the Lord” but the whole “of
the lord” part does seem shaky next to his complete failure to stand with
heaven or his fellow angels – it’s been a long time since he has been a loyal
member of the cadre (and he even has a couple of massacres under his belt.) But,
then, Heaven hasn’t exactly been deserving for that loyalty.
I wonder if the writers are becoming more self-aware?
Last episode we had the whole “we need to save people” line along with the need
to change (especially since they’re in a rut). And this episode we directly
address the Winchesters’ almost comic ability to return from the grave over and
over and over. Is it a recognition that these things need to change? Or a
message to fans that they’re not going to do this again?
In one episode Crowley managed to recapture everything
about him that made him fun that was missing from the last episode
Unfortunately this episode also did the female death
thing. Hannah, one of the few female angels (albeit this time in a male body)
and a recurring character, is now dead. Jenna, a potential new character, is dead
after two episodes. It’s stuff like this (and the death of Charlie which I will
NEVER EVER be over) that makes me hope Jody doesn’t come back into the show – the
more times a woman shows her face, the more chance there is of her being
killed.
