Supernatural season 10: Recap Episodes 4-9

Shamefully, I’ve managed to get so far behind that I’m actually playing catch-up from episodes 4 though 9. . . which is completely unacceptable as a hard-core fan, but I’ll do what it takes to get myself bank in the game. So… let’s start with episode 4, Paper Moon: Dean is finally rid of his demon & eager to get back to hunting. He & Sam are investigating a string of murders which lead them to believe a werewolf is responsible. Their search leads them to Kate, the werewolf from season 8 that they decided to let live, giving her the benefit of the doubt. It turns out that Kate’s sister, Tasha, is the one actually responsible for the murders. Dean tells her there is a cure & if she takes them to her sister, he’ll cure them both. (HUGE lie on Dean’s part, as there is no cure). During the car ride to find Tasha, Dean brings up how Sam used Lester to try and locate Dean when he was still a demon, by convincing Lester to sell his soul…Sam feels justified that it was necessary in his search for his big brother. When they arrive at the location where Tasha is hiding out, Kate now knows that Dean led her on about the cure. However, Kate realizes her sister is too far gone to save, and she surprisingly kills Tasha before taking off once again. Once again, the brothers decide not to pursue her. Sam says he thinks it’s too soon for Dean to be hunting again, but Dean just wants to make things right, especially for all the bad he had done as a demon.

Episode 5, Fan Fiction, was the show’s 200th episode!! My expectations were really high and admittedly unrealistic for this one, and I have to say it was NOTHING even remotely close to what I’d expected. It actually seemed more like an ordinary episode, though after watching it a second time, I loved it. Being such a milestone at 200 episodes, I think I was expecting the show to bring back some favorite characters somehow, even if only for this particular episode. I guess I can say I did actually get what I’d hoped for, although it wasn’t quite how I’d expected. The brothers are investigating the disappearance of a teacher, which leads them to a high school musical named, “Supernatural”, starring a bunch of teenage girls acting out the lives of Sam and Dean. Dean seems particularly nauseated by the idea of a Supernatural musical, especially with the absence of classic rock. However, at the end of the episode, the girls performed a surprisingly awesome version of “Carry On My Wayward Son.”  Sam and Dean learn that Calliope is responsible for not only the drama teacher’s disappearance, but also one of the cast members, who was having trouble dealing with the neurotic dictatorship of the director of the show, Marie. When they learn that Calliope protects the author or creator of whichever piece of work she’s tuned in to, until the project is completed, at which time she then EATS the author, the Winchesters become immediate fans of Marie’s musical, since it will be the only way to catch Calliope, as well as protect Marie and the rest of the cast. This was one of the lighter episodes, with some very funny moments as well as some great lines! It ended with a Sam and Dean BM scene (boy melodrama), one of the terms coined by Marie (LMAO!).

The 6th episode, Ask Jeeves, definitely did not rank as one of my favorites.  Of course I love them all, but every now and then there will be an episode that just seems to bland and so unimportant…this was one of those times.  Sam and Dean are looking into a possible case after Dean discovers a somewhat alarming message on Bobby’s phone. The brothers meet the Lacroix family, who appear to be a bunch of snooty, squabbling snobs. At first the brothers think the death of one of the Lacroix women may be due to a vengeful spirit, yet it turned out to be a shapeshifter that Bobby had let live years back, on the terms that the Lacroix shifter must remain locked up in the mansion. There were some funny moments with two of the older women literally falling all over Sam. The most interesting part to this episode was that it paid some homage to the game, Clue. It was complete with Dean finding weapons throughout the mansion, such as a revolver, a candlestick, rope, a wrench, in rooms such as the ballroom, the kitchen, the study, etc. The only noteable moment in the episode was at the end when Dean shot the wealthy shapeshifter, Olivia, repeatedly. This was the first moment since Dean was cured of his demon that the Mark of Cain reared it’s ugly head. Unfortunately, Dean doesn’t want to admit the MOC is having any effects on him, and he just closes up and tells Sam he’s just fine, and a little rusty if anything, at hunting. Sam remains unconvinced, as am I.

Episode 7, Girls Girls Girls completely made up for episode 6. Some pieces to the large puzzle that is Supernatural were revealed. Even if the pieces only make the puzzle that much larger. We were introduced to Rowena, a witch trying to recruit other women she’ll teach the craft to, in order to create her own super coven. Rowena seemed very unassuming as far as bad guys go, yet she was oozing arrogant flair! This must be a family trait, because we learn that Rowena is none other than Crowley’s dear mother! I can only hope that she turns out to be as much fun to watch as Crowley is!

Finally, Cole has returned5! It’s about time, too. Surely he’s feeling pretty sour at Dean since the last time he saw him, Dean was a demon (a Knight of Hell, actually) and whupped Cole’s ass. Although Dean knows Cole has shown up with the intention on killing him, Dean just seems completely spent. Sam arrives almost instantly and keeps a gun on Cole while Dean explains that Cole’s father was a monster. Dean says he doesn’t know what kind of monster he was, as he’d never encountered one like him before, nor has he ever since. To my surprise, Cole seems to swallow this information rather easily, if not reluctantly. We last see Cole driving away from the brothers, presumably returning to his family.

Hannah and Castiel were also in this episode. It’s been obvious that Hannah was developing feelings for Cass. However she seems to be struggling with her human vessel. Hannah has so,e sort of epiphany, as she comes to the realization that humans should be free (more or less), as in NOT occupied with an angel. Hanna’s human vessel’s emoti0ons seem to be becoming overwhelming, and she decides to leave and return to Heaven, allowing her vessel to return to her husband. This strikes a nerve with Castiel, as he remembers his vessel, Jimmy’s, family and all they’d gone through. This includes the demonic possession of his wife as well as Castiel’s possession of Jimmy’s young daughter, Claire, before Jimmy pleaded with Cass to leave his daughter and use his body instead. Only now, Jimmy’s soul is in Heaven, so despite any residual feelings left behind in his body, Jimmy is dead, and Cass is left with the guilt he feels for taking this man from his family, permanently.

Episode 8, Hibbing 911, brought us to Sheriff Jody Mills. Sheriff Mills is attending a mandatory Sheriff’s convention, or retreat, depending on how you look at it. It’s so obvious Jody wants to be ANYWHERE but where she is. This is only magnified when she’s teamed up with Donna, the annoying, overly peppy Sheriff we met almost 2 years ago at that brother & sister fat-sucking spa. When a dead body shows up (or the stringy, bloody chunk of a body), Jody knows right away that something is up and she calls the Winchesters for assistance.  The Mark of Cain is really starting to show it’s effects on Dean’s behavior, as he is becoming freakishly zealous when it comes down to killing any monsters. Before the MOC, Dean would just get the job done, and now he seems to be killing as if it were a sport. Of course, he’s not about to own up to the fact that he is spiraling, even though he gave Sam his word he’d tell him as soon as he felt something was wrong. Though Sam should be pretty familiar with this level of denial, as he’s the Olympic champion of denial. Bubbly Donna stepped up to the plate and cut the head off the vampire, much to my surprise. Apart from some serious silliness not only from Donna, but also the ridiculousness of the whole sheriff’s retreat, there wasn’t much else happening this episode. Though now that the MOC  is warming back up, I’m pretty sure it’s leading up to a really awesome mid-season finale!

Episode 9, The Things We Left Behind, starts off showing us what Claire Novak has been up to since losing her father to Castiel. It turns out Claire has been in and out of trouble for some time, since her father is gone and her mother has left to “find herself”, leaving young Claire with her grandmother, but now that she’s passed away, Clair is very much on her own. With a very typical daddy issues, Claire has been in and out of group homes just as much as she’s been getting into trouble. Cass has found Claire and she tells Castiel to get her out of the child prison she’s in (group home). Cass does TRY to convince the social worker to release Claire into his custody, as he pretends to be Jimmy. But since Cass is completely terrible at faking it, his request is denied. So, instead he breaks Claire out of the home. She isn’t with him more than an hour or so before she steals his wallet and sneaks off onto a bus to go see some guy named Randy. Cass goes to see Sam and Dean, hoping for a little familial advice. While they hang out at a diner, Sam and Dean reminisce about their younger years growing up with their father. Did I mention Sam’s hair is starting to look just plain silly now? I’m trying to take him seriously, but I’m finding I’m so distracted by his super girlie ‘do. Anyway, when it’s agreed that Claire is likely in danger, they go to save her. Castiel arrives just in time to save Claire, as Randy has just sold her to pay off his debt. He actually SOLD her. Ok, I thought this was a little bit ridiculous, but that’s just me.

Crowley has been keeping his mother locked up for weeks, presumably as punishment for leaving him as a child. Rowena tries to convince Crowley that the townspeople were coming after her. and she had no choice but to leave him. Poor Crowley was only 8 when she left, and it’s evident that he’s still got a sore spot from this. Rowena is just as manipulative as her son, if not more, as she uses her cellmate to help convince Crowley that his right hand man has been the one responsible for springing souls from Hell. For some reason, Crowley not only decides to believe his mother, but also gives her a place at his side-which is exactly what she’d wanted. It;s clear she’s going to betray her son, likely for power, only it’s too soon to tell just what exactly she has got planned.

Sam finds Dean kneeling on the floor surrounded by dead bodies.  At the very beginning of this episode Dean woke from a nightmare showing him exactly where he is right now. Sam is practically begging his big brother to tell him he had no choice but to kill these men. It’s crystal clear now that the Mark of Cain is starting to win out, bringing the darkest parts of Dean to the surface. This is exactly what Dean has been afraid of. He even asked Castiel to end him if he became anything like what he was when he was a demon. I really think Cass pacified him by agreeing. Dean may not be a demon, or a Knight of Hell now, but the MOC is turning him into something entirely different. Something very dark. This is where we were left hanging as it was the mid-season finale. I’m expecting some hard times ahead with the Mark when the show returns. I’m also wondering if Cole has really just accepted what Dean told him about the unknown monster his father was, and planning on leaving well enough alone. It just seems too easy after a lifetime of his preparing to find and kill Dean, to just hopping in his truck and driving home. Although I’m sure no matter what I expect that Supernatural will surprise me in the end. That’s what makes this show kick ass, after all!