Photo Courtesy Of CW
Warning: Spoiler Alert
The season opening episodes of the CW series “Supernatural,” are usually filled with fast paced action, interspersed with revelatory information that sets the tone for the upcoming season, however that wasn’t the case with the episode of the show that kicked off, season ten. At least one loyal fan of the series walked away from the season premiere feeling unfulfilled, the episode didn’t progress the story at all, or truly give a solid explanation of the new dynamic this season. What we witnessed consisted of Dean being a jerk, Sam being obsessed, Crowley feeling disappointed and Castiel slowly dying due to his fading grace.
Just who exactly is “Demon Dean“? From what we witnessed in episode one, wasn’t so much someone evil, more like somebody without a conscience or like Sam once existed without a soul. We’ve seen this side of Dean for over nine-seasons, what’s missing’s that marshmallow heart underneath that crusty exterior, that usually ensures he does the right thing when push comes to shove. That good side of the older Winchester brother’s disappeared but he’s not out planning genocides or wreaking havoc. Dean killed just two men, former soldiers of Abaddon who attacked him trying to avenge her death. He did go over the top with the beat-down he put on the dude who gave the girl he slept with a hard time, but he left on his own accord after overemphasizing his point.
Sam’s running on simply coffee and adrenaline in continuing his search for Dean, part of him wants to believe his brother’s dead and Crowley just inserted one of his cronies in Dean’s meatsuit. However deep down he realizes that the demon in his brother truly is Dean and his brother’s pretty happy with the way things have occurred recently.
Castiel’s coughing so badly he sounds like he belongs in a consumption ward. Sam calls him about his first possible lead on Dean in a month, a former Ohio resident got killed in Michigan. The dead man belonged to some cult in Ohio, murdered his wife and children three-years earlier, then vanished. When he finishes giving Castiel the information the Angel goes into an extended coughing fit, then apologizes. Sam, says he should apologize because Castiel’s job right now’s to get healthier. Cas says to Sam he can help and the younger Winchester brother says we tried that before. The Angel says he hopes that Sam doesn’t believe the demon hurting Sam’s shoulder (now in a sling) was his fault and Sam says no then cuts the call quick. Sam’s making the trip to Michigan on his own.
When he gets to the town in his guise as an FBI Agent, the police officer tells him his trip might have been a waste as it looks like this case’s self-defense. He then shows Sam the surveillance footage from the convenience-stores cameras. Sam sees Dean leaning against a magazine stand reading a magazine when a guy comes over wielding a knife attempting to attack him. Dean makes fast work of Abaddon follower killing him with the “First-Blade.” Sam asks the officer if he can watch the tape again and he says sure and steps away from his desk, Sammy pauses the tape and sees Dean with coal-black eyes.
There’s a knock at the front door of the dilapidated apartment Castiel’s living in and he answers the door in his robe to find the Angel Hanna, who helped him defeat Metatron in last season’s finale. After greeting her, he tells her he senses some awkwardness and she motions with her head towards his lower body as he neglected to tie the robe. As he’s getting into his suit Hanna tells him that most of the Angels have returned to Heaven, but some rogues exist who want to remain on earth. She says Heaven sent down an Angel just to talk with two Angels about returning and they killed him. She asks for his help and he agrees to help her.
Sam goes to the convenience store and talks to the teenage clerk who was on duty when the fight took place and the kid starts excitedly giving a blow-by-blow. The kid keeps referring to Dean as “Porn-Man,” so Sam asks the teen did Dean say anything to him when he walked in and the kid replied where’s the porn. Sam asked if Dean used a credit card, bought anything, or said something on his way out and the teen looks at him blankly. Winchester then yells at the kid, that he watched a guy kill another guy in the store he works at and didn’t say anything to him? The teen replies, you mean the guy who plunged a knife repeatedly into another guy ten-feet in front of me, that I didn’t know was a hero or a psycho? Sorry I didn’t do any field interviews. He then asks Sam if he can drop off the dead man’s cellphone to the police.
We see a new character, looks like he’s in his early thirties, a military-type. He’s doing his daily workout when we join him and he’s pushing himself hard. His wife and young son are standing in the kitchen when the fax-machine rings, the boy tears off the message and runs to give it to his dad, the man asks does it say who it’s from and his son replies its got a picture. He looks at it and his wife asks is that him, but her husband ignores the question.
Hanna and Cas are looking for a male and female Angel and as they drive to their destination Hanna they find the male one near a lake in the woods. She asks her friend how he’s doing and he tells her he feels like a million bucks. She responds that’s not true and he replies it’s his truth, Hanna tells him he’s dying and he needs to return to Heaven, but our stoic buddy asks so that another Angel dies so he may live? He refuses to do it
They find the male Angel by a lake in the woods and he expresses condolences for their fallen brother but Hanna replies they killed him. The Angel says they mean harm to no one they simply want to be left alone. Hanna says the other Angel just came as a messenger to ask them to return and he replies some don’t accept no as an answer. But Castiel calms them both down and he convinces all to sit down and talk. After sunset as they sit around a campfire, the Angel says he can’t comprehend why the Angels in Heaven can’t grasp the concept of free choice and Hanna starts to say something, but the Angel interrupts her and says he wasn’t talking to her. She looks to Castiel and asks him if he knows what the Angel refers to and Cas sadly nods his head yes. (perhaps saddened that Hanna didn’t get it)
At that point the female Angel comes towards the campfire brandishing her knife and her partner tells her to store it, but she responds not before Hanna stores hers. The tension escalates quickly between the two women and suddenly the man’s screaming, the woman slashes Hanna in the arm and the man looks as if he’s going to kill her when Castiel sticks his blade in his back killing him instead. (Why didn’t Cas capture his grace though?) The woman runs off and Cas tells Hanna to let her go.
Sam goes through the guy from Ohio’s phone and finds a call from the guy to Crowley. Turned out Roderick tipped off the Abaddon followers about Dean. He calls Crowley and the King Of Hell’s confused as he knows the owner of the phone’s dead. Sam says he’s calling from a dead man’s phone and Crowley tells “Moose” he’s glad to hear from him. Sam starts threatening Crowley and the King Of Hell roars back at him, that the only demon in Dean is Dean and Sam’s just jealous because he’d rather hang with Crowley than his own brother. He hangs up but Sam’s already traced the call to the bar Dean and Crowley are hanging out at in North Dakota.
Crowley finds Dean and tells him it’s time to blow this depressing town where dreams go to die and they have work to do. Dean says he’s not done howling at the moon and he likes where they are just fine. Then Crowley tells Dean that he sent the Abaddon soldiers after him to keep him in shape and he just spoke with Sam, who traced the call and will arrive by morning. Dean tells Crowley he sold him out, but Crowley gets indignant talking about how he got him through the adjustment period of becoming a demon and how he wants Dean as his partner in running Hell. He tells him they’re not ending the party just moving it. Winchester tells him he wants no part of that plan and Crowley looks hurt and says that Dean knows how to find him.
Sam’s driving to the bar when his rental car breaks down and a car that’s followed him rather closely for a while pulls up behind him and we see the military looking guy. He offers to help and opens the hood and points to a red flashing light and tells Sam that’s his problem. Sam asks what it is and the guy replies it’s a kill switch and he’s got the remote then knocks Sam out and throws him in his truck.
Dean decides to get messy drunk and he accomplishes his goal, going up on the Karaoke stage and getting booed. The bouncer attempts to get him off the stage, but Dean knocks him out. It gets to the point where the waitress he’s sleeping with grabs a shot out of his hand and takes it away, after some bed spins he falls asleep. She comes into his room and wakes him up and offers him something to drink, he refuses and she replies it’s your funeral.
He sits up in the bed and asks her to go away with him and take off somewhere together. She tells him their already somewhere together, but Dean says someplace better than this. She tells him he’s crazy, they barely know each other and he’s loaded. He says that he defended her honor and she tells him at first she got blown away by that, but the more he beat the guy, the more she realized the beating was about Dean not her. She says she thought he’s a good guy pretending to act bad, but now she doesn’t know which is the act. He tells her she’s good to interpret all that from a bar fight and he’s also the guy who travels town to town and beds all the skanks. She replies she’s so messed up in a while she’ll believe he deserved to say that to her and walks out.
Dean’s out on the highway when his phone rings and he see’s it’s Sam’s phone, he says he left him a gift in North Dakota, but then realizes Sam’s not on the phone. The guy tells Dean that they go way back together and he’s holding Sam hostage and he’ll slit his throat unless Dean agrees to meet them there. Dean asks how does he know Sam’s still alive and the guy hits Sam and he yells in pain. Winchester then tells the guy that Sam means nothing to him, so do what ever he wants to him. Sam knows he’s a man of his word and hangs up the phone. We see a quick spark of humanity, but not strong enough to light the pilot flame.
The Story Continues Next Wednesday Night at 9:00pm on CW.
