I really don't want to say anything bad about an episode that gave us Crowley, Bobby, Benny, Kevin, and a Winchester hug. I mean, wow. That's a lot of awesome for one episode. But... in some ways that was my biggest problem with it. I remember back in earlier seasons of this show when getting in and out of Hell would have taken up an entire story-arc. An episode like this had enough material to fill at least two or three episodes, if not an entire half-season.
Kevin Tran is having a lot of trouble coping with the pressures of his life as a prophet. He's convinced that Crowley is in his head. The Winchesters brush him off and Kevin tells them that the second trial involves freeing an innocent soul from Hell. So... they summon a crossroads demon. They torture him, and he tells them to go to a rogue reaper to get into hell. They find one, and Sam goes off with him. They get into Purgatory. Sam gets into Hell. Sam finds Bobby. They get out of Hell. But now they are trapped in Purgatory. Dean kills Benny to send him back there to get Sam out. Benny succeeds, sacrificing himself to get Sam and Bobby out. Meanwhile, Naomi and Crowley are messing around in everyone's business, Kevin is becoming more and more crazy...
Just writing that out made me tired. So many things happened! I really wish that this had at least been a two-part episode. The first half could have ended with Sam finding Bobby in Hell. He turns around and punches Sam. What a great cliffhanger that could have been! The second episode could deal more fully with Dean's realization that Sam is stuck in Purgatory, and his decision to ask Benny to help. This episode had some of my all-time favorite characters in it. No Cas, but other than that the whole freakin' gang was here. Kevin, Crowley, Naomi, BOBBY! I mean... that's insane! If we could have had 85 minutes of material instead of just 42ish, they all could have had more time to shine.
So... after that rant... I must say, this episode kicked some ass. The fast pacing was really bothersome, but despite that, there were a lot of intense and moving moments, some humor, and it obviously jumped the plot forward in a big and important way.
I'll start with Kevin's part in this episode. Serious kudos to Osric Chau's portrayal of Kevin this week. He was seriously terrified, and it showed. I really love the idea that he isn't able to hack the lifestyle that comes from being a prophet. It feels very realistic to me. I like that the show is exploring this character cracking under the pressure. Sam and Dean have been at this for so long that there isn't really any question of what they can handle. But... The Winchesters (mostly Dean) were pretty terrible about it. They were not at all supportive of what he was going through. Here are some quotes to show what I mean: "Jeez, Kevin, will you chill out?" "You suck it up and you push through, because that's what we do." And at the end, when they saw that Kevin was gone, Dean says that the "little geek made a run for it." Wow, Dean. Way to be super casual and rude about a guy who has been nothing but helpful to you.
I really hope that what we saw at the end of that episode was another hallucination. I really don't want Mrs. Tran to be dead! I think it must have been, because the windows that Crowley supposedly shattered were intact when Sam and Dean showed up. Only time will tell!
I really appreciated this week's attempt to tie in some earlier mythology. It was cool to see the concept of a crossroad demon come up again, along with another reaper. But... was it just me, or was the idea of a rogue reaper really underdeveloped? The whole thing happened so quickly that it felt underused. That, as I mentioned before, was my biggest problem with the episode. This Ajay guy could have been really interesting, but he was barely explored. This is a problem that could have been solved simply with more time. One thing I really loved about all the guest-star demons and reapers in this episode was the fact that they all knew exactly who the Winchesters were. I really adore the idea that they are famous among all supernatural creatures. They are legends in this world, and I really love how the show has explored that idea. Again, I just wanted a bit more.
Okay, now to talk about Bobby. I really love Jim Beaver. I really love Bobby. But, again, the same problem arises - we just didn't have enough time! Did it bother anybody else that Sam was able to get in and out of Hell so damn easily? If it was that simple, why don't more people escape? I mean, really. There were some things I really loved about Bobby, though. (Because, yeah, I mean... it's Bobby!) For one, I really loved that the episode chose to give Sam and Bobby a chance to bond. Dean has meaningful relationships with Bobby, Cas, Benny, etc. etc. Sam has Amelia, but she wasn't very popular with audiences because people saw her as a threat to the Winchester bond. I like that Sam got a chance to focus on a relationship with someone other than Dean. The reunion between Sam and Bobby was pretty touching, and funny. Apparently Bobby loves Tori Spelling and once got a free pedicure at the Mall of America that changed his life. Who knew?
But... there wasn't enough time. I know I sound like a broken record, but seriously. Bobby was convinced that Sam was real far too quickly. Hell was not at all sinister. Remember the Hell at the end of season 3? Dean hanging from hooks in the air, screaming for Sam? Well... that was awesomely sinister. This was not. The people that Sam saw on his way to find Bobby were properly creepy, sure. The one girl repeating the mantra "I knew you'd come" really got to me. But there simply was not enough time to explore this Hell. Once Sam found Bobby, he very quickly agreed to go with Sam, and the two escaped without much incident. When confronted with two Sams, Bobby killed one of them, declaring "Took a chance. 50/50!" This could have been a great moment to explore how Hell had truly changed Bobby and made him much more cavalier about death. But... no. It was brushed over as an oddly comedic moment.
Once Sam and Bobby were in Purgatory, there was an oddly lackluster conversation about Bobby getting into Heaven. It felt a bit phoned in. I did love that Sam started filling Bobby in on everything that had been going on. But... and here comes my number one problem with this episode - ready? EVERYONE NEEDS TO GET OFF OF SAM'S BACK ABOUT NOT LOOKING FOR DEAN WHILE HE WAS IN PURGATORY! I mean, seriously! Don't you think he's gotten enough crap for that? Why is it that all the other characters get a million free passes but Sam doesn't? Dean still occasionally brings up Stanford, Lilith, and other discretions in Sam's past. It really aggravates me. I personally believe that spending the better part of two centuries with Lucifer and Michael as roommates should wipe the slate clean. And now he's doing these trials to close the gates of Hell! How much more should this guy have to pay for what he's done?
Whew. Sorry, I could go on about that for a bit, but I should probably review the rest of the episode. When Bobby discovered that Dean was friends with a vampire, he exclaimed: "You two really went off the rails while I was gone, didn't you?" Okay, Bobby. Okay, writers. STOP JUDGING! Does anybody remember Lenore from seasons two and six? I thought the whole point of that story arc was to show that not all supernatural creatures are inherently evil. Specifically, Lenore was a vampire. Why is it that this show doesn't remember that? Why is Benny judged so harshly?
Oddly enough, I also have a complaint about the exact opposite thing. Sam really did hate Benny quite a lot. Okay, while I might not agree with it, that was a pretty established fact in this season. In this episode, Benny helps him out and he instantly changes his mind about him. Really? I actually really liked seeing the development of Sam and Benny's relationship. If that was the last we see of Benny, I'm going to be annoyed. Not because I loved Benny all that much, but because he was a total waste of time if that was all there was to him. There has to be something more, right?
Speaking more about Benny - Dean's scene with him was a real high point of this episode. Their relationship feels like a bit more than friendship to me. I sort of think that they're in love. Maybe not. I'm not sure, but Dean looked a little too heartbroken when Sam told him that Benny wasn't coming back. I mean, they were down in Purgatory together for a year... I know Cas was with them, but... Oh goodness, Cas is so in love with Dean too. There was probably all sorts of fighting and jealousy between the three of them. Now I want to watch an episode about that.
I apologize for the tangent. Anyways, the scene between Dean and Benny was great. Jensen Ackles actually looked like he was about to start crying the whole time he was talking to him. His quiet "thank you" just before he cut his head off was heartbreaking. It all just reinforced a beloved theme of Supernatural. Dean can't live without his brother. He'd do anything - even kill Benny - to get Sam to safety. It's a touching idea and it was executed really well here because of Jensen's acting. I also loved when Dean was like "my little brother is stuck down there" and Benny responds: "This would be the little brother that wants to kill me, right?" Good point, Benny! But, yet again, the time constraints really limited this angle.
Earlier in the episode, when Ajay tells Sam that he can get him into Hell, Dean puts up the barest resistance to letting Sam do it alone. They don't even say goodbye to each other before Sam just walks off with Ajay. What is up with that? I don't think Dean would be that easy going about sending Sam to Hell. Remember, Dean was in Hell for 40 years! Why would he be cool with Sam hopping down their for a quick stroll? It's a scary place!
Now I'm just speculating and thinking too hard, probably, but I think it's really interesting that Dean was okay with Sam being in Hell, but the minute Naomi told him that Sam was in Purgatory, he freaked out and was willing to decapitate Benny to get him out of there. Clearly, Purgatory is a bigger threat to Dean than Hell is. Intense, huh? Purgatory is set up pretty cool with the sparse grey lighting and all, but I'm remembering how intense Hell and Lucifer's Cage both had to have been, and Purgatory just doesn't seem as threatening in comparison. I just wish this was all explored a bit more.
Naomi and Crowley were great this week. Crowley is always great, of course, but I just wish there had been more. My favorite part was the fact that Crowley seemed to be getting agitated about the Winchesters. I liked to see him a bit fazed by what was going on. It's always interesting when characters as powerful as Crowley are threatened in some way. I consistently love to see him in this show. I almost hope that the Winchesters don't close the gates of Hell, because that might mean no more Crowley. I also enjoyed Naomi's scene with Dean, because she brought up Castiel and reminded us about that part of the story (like we could forget. I mean, Cas tried to kill Dean. That's not going to leave our minds for a while). Regardless, it was good to see Cas continue to play a role, even though he wasn't here. Whenever Naomi and Crowley are on screen together I am really happy. They play off of each other really well, and I'm extremely interested on their back-story - how well do they know each other, exactly? I get a vibe of flirtatious hatred from them, if that makes sense.
I also have to talk about the hugs this week. Sam and Bobby hug. Benny and Dean hug. And Sam and Dean hug! Do you realize that this is the second Winchester hug this season? Must be Christmas! As gooey and brotherly as these two get, I can think of only six hugs including this one in the show's entire history. Maybe I'm missing one, but I don't think so. We've never had more than one hug per season, and so it was actually a real treat to see this one here. And it was so sweet. Dean looked like he was about to have a panic attack before Sam showed up, and he was so relieved to see him. I was a bit worried that he was going to start off asking him about Benny right away, but his primary concern was for Sam. Always. Aww, you Winchesters. Just melt my heart, why don't you?
So... I think the extreme length of this review is testament enough to its impact on me. It was a good episode. Really intense, with a lot of great characters making appearances. My main and oft-repeated problem was just the pacing. This same story would have been much more satisfying had it been spread out. I would have loved to explore Hell and Purgatory a bit more, and I'll be really annoyed if that was the end of Benny.
Maybe my dissatisfaction with this episode comes more from my extreme love of this show, rather than from my critical mind. I always want more, and this week was amazing enough to make me particularly upset that I didn't get it.
7.5/10
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