Supernatural: Tombstone (13x06)

This was probably the weakest episode so far of a very strong season, but it was still serviceable and had some great moments.

Cons:

I swear this isn't a Destiel thing, but I was hoping for a bit... more out of the reunion between Cas and the boys. I don't mean more melodrama, necessarily, but maybe a more extreme reaction. I kind of wanted one of them, maybe Sam, to doubt that Cas was really there. They didn't even do anything to confirm that it was really him, and not Lucifer in his meatsuit, or some cosmic entity, or anything. They just accepted it instantly. And that could have been okay as well, if maybe somebody could have pointed out that they were being too trusting. The rest of the episode is a standard C-plot with a dash of Jack's on-going arc in it, and as a consequence it felt a bit like Cas' return was tacked on at the last second. Nobody even mentioned Mary's name this whole episode. You'd think Cas would ask about her, but not that we got to see.

As far as monster-of-the-week goes, this was serviceable, much more interesting for Dean's excitement than for anything in the actual plot. We have a pretty cliche setup where the monster kidnaps a girl (the woman he was seeing, before she learned that he was a murderer) and Dean rushes in, along with help from a Sargent to kill the baddie and save the girl. Dean even says as much when he returns from the bunker, playing out the generic conventions. But just because you hang a lampshade on something, doesn't suddenly break the cliche. Just saying.

Pros:

Still, I've got to admit that Cas' long-awaited return did give me the warm and fuzzies. Sam and Dean both share a hug with him, and I'd just like to point out that Dean's hug is different than most of the hugs we've seen him and Cas share. Usually Dean gets a look on his face like he's sort of indulging Cas' affection, instead of reciprocating it, if that makes sense. This is a rare Dean-initiated hug, and he looks completely relieved and happy to see his friend. We've also got to point out that Dean's dramatic mood-shift is attributable to one thing and one thing only: Cas' return. He even says as much to Sam when Sam points out that he's in an exceptionally good mood.

Cas jumps right back into things with his usual awkward humor. The scene where he and Dean are being Texas Rangers was hilarious. Misha Collins really hit it out of the park. I think my favorite Cas stuff was probably the signs of how well he knows Dean Winchester. He tries to stop Jack from waking Dean up, knowing that he'll receive a gun in the face, and it made me wonder how and when Cas learned that particular lesson. Cas tells Jack, sagely: "I told you. He's an angry sleeper. Like a bear." I mean, are they husbands or what?

Dean's happiness is such a relief to see after so many episodes of doom and gloom. As I mentioned before, the monster-of-the-week story is mostly just serviceable, but seeing how excited Dean is to go up against a legendary outlaw makes the whole thing a lot more exciting. It even bleeds over into his behavior towards Jack. If we needed more proof that Dean's animosity towards Jack was tied up in his grief over Cas, we see it in this episode. Dean was already warming to the kid, but here, with Cas returned to them, is his first overt expressions of trust and family. He actually calls the four of them "Team Free Will 2.0," which was such an amazing callback to a line from Season Five that the fandom has long loved.

Finally, let's turn to Jack. He spends the episode working the case, trying his best to imitate the Winchesters' style, leading to several hilarious moments. He jumps to conclusions and repeats questions he's used to hearing from Sam and Dean, often sticking his foot in his mouth in adorable ways. Of course, all this endearing behavior is just gearing us up for tragedy. Jack, while trying to help stop the ghoul, inadvertently kills an innocent man with his powers. This sends him into a spiral and ends with him telling Cas, Sam, and Dean that he needs to leave before he can hurt them. He couldn't live with himself if he did, because they're all he has.

Well, just break my heart why don't you. I know I'm a broken record with this, but I'm just so pleasantly surprised by how much I like Jack, and how well they've done with building up this character. I wouldn't have thought I'd enjoy seeing the Winchesters and Cas try to be three awkward dads to a newborn adult super-human, but it's working out very well, oddly enough. Cas and Jack had a number of precious moments, reminiscing about Kelly, talking about Jack's future, and Cas even tries to comfort Jack after his fatal mistake by telling him that they've all done terrible things, and he can't give up. Unfortunately, Jack doesn't exactly have the coping mechanisms to deal with what he's done, and as the episode ends, he vanishes, leaving his erstwhile guardians desperate to find him.

There you have it. When I say this episode was the weakest of the season, I'm still ranking it as a pretty good outing. The only reason it doesn't get even higher marks from me is that I wanted even more from Cas' return, and I was not totally gripped by the C-plot. Can't wait for more Cas and Jack next week!

7.5/10