This episode was a fantastic follow-up to the very promising premiere! The beginning was great, with Sam and Dean finally just getting to talk for a little bit, and the reveal of Crowley in the trunk. Dean’s line was quite hilarious (“He’s the junk in my trunk”), and as always, Crowley was the best mixture of creepy and darkly humorous.
I especially loved when Sam and Dean locked him in the room and left him there to stew. Though he said later in the episode that that did nothing to him, it was quite obvious that it did, from his hallucinations and horrific memories of the purification that was almost completed in the church last season.
His scene with Kevin was marvelous. Osric Chau deserves major brownie points for convincingly playing the devastated teenager; a boy with nothing left to lose, being thrown into this whole thing and his mother and girlfriend having been killed. And, of course, Mark Sheppard beautifully portrayed the near-breaking-point Crowley, who used his abilities to torment and ridicule to try and make him feel stronger, like he had at least SOME power and control left.
And, finally, Abaddon: one of the best villains to ever grace this show, restored in all her Alaina Huffman glory. This was a smart move by them; too many times have great characters been extinguished once they’ve inhabited a new meatsuit (or, in the real world, a not-so-good new actor). Alaina is fiery and passionate as Abaddon, wishing to rule Hell with an iron fist. Her motivation is marvelous (and her hair is INCREDIBLE). Her scenes with Dean were especially electric.
The two hunters (especially Tracy) were really great; I loved how they brought in the plot twist of Tracy killing the vampire, after leaving the viewers to think she had died. I also liked how she actually LISTENED to the advice Dean gave her about Sam, and how she tried to be nice to him at the end. Adding on, Jared Padalecki’s acting was fantastic when Tracy told Sam of her family’s death; you could just SEE his face fall in despair. He was also brilliant as Ezekiel, once again – his presence and command as the angel are so extremely different from that of Sam, and you can tell it’s a completely separate character. (By the way, those special effects were awesome! I loved Ezekiel’s wings.)
Finally, the scene between Kevin and Dean. Oh, this was my absolute favorite part of the episode. I’ve been waiting for Kevin to have a breakdown, and it came just at the perfect time. He finally just got fed up with everything, believing the Winchesters to only want him for his being a prophet. I mean, can you really blame him for thinking this? He was just supposed to be an honors student. He was going to go to college, marry his girl, and live a happy, successful life – and that was all taken away from him in the blink of an eye. Suddenly, he was thrown into this world of monsters and demons and angels, where anything and everything is out to kill him. And then, these two guys, who really doesn’t even know that much about, come and try to help him and tell him what he’s supposed to do. But how can he really trust them? They’re keeping him locked up in this old building, and he doesn’t feel like anyone loves him anymore.
But God, when Dean made that speech, I had tears in my eyes (as did Kevin). Dean made it clear that Kevin was like their little brother; that he was a part of this family, no matter what; that he and Sam would die for him in a heartbeat. That this is a family, even though it’s broken and makeshift and made up of a half angel, a fallen angel, a prophet of the lord, and the Righteous Man. They still LOVE each other (even though Dean “doesn’t do love”).
Anyway, it was a really, really friggin’ fantastic episode, and I have such high hopes for this season (that I pray will not be extinguished). Next week’s episode is all about Castiel, which I’m super excited for. Now, I would like to say a few words about the whole April thing (April is Cas’ new love interest, in case you didn’t know). Please, DO NOT judge her character yet. We have not seen any scenes with her; we know absolutely NOTHING about her, so DO NOT call her a slut, a whore, a bitch, or any other shaming words just because she is going to “get in the way of Destiel”. She WILL NOT be getting in the way of Destiel. If anything, she will propel the pairing forward, as this is a gateway for Cas to learn about relationships, love, sex, and sexuality, all he will need if he’s going to be with Dean at some point (and that is an IF). Also, Dean will probably be jealous. Just think of that.
Now, if you’re sad just because you hate seeing your ship torn apart and you just want Cas with Dean and Dean with Cas, that is TOTALLY okay and you can continue on with your anger; I will not stop you. As long as you are NOT hating on the new character for silly reasons, I am completely fine with whatever you’re feeling. It’s even okay if you don’t like her personality; just don’t be mad at her for being with Cas.
Okay! That’s it. I’m super psyched for next week!
The Professional Fanwarrior 