Supernatural: Road Trip (9x10)

We're back from hiatus! Supernatural sure pulled out the big guns for this episode... we had pretty much all of our important characters in this one. Sam, Dean, Cas, Crowley, Metatron, Abaddon... I was pretty happy to see the whole gang. Let's start with a summary.

Dean is grieving Kevin's death, while meanwhile Gadreel keeps killing people (and angels) on Metatron's orders. Cas comes to the bunker, where Dean fills him in on all that has happened. Cas and Dean go to Crowley to help them bypass the angel inside Sam, so they can talk to Sam directly. Then, they hope, Sam will be able to cast the angel out. Crowley agrees to help them, if they let him go with them to find Sam. They do so, but a demon spots Crowley and alerts Abaddon that Crowley is on the move.

Gadreel goes to murder the next person on Metatron's hit list, and it turns out to be an angel named Abner, who was an old friend of Gadreel's from when they were imprisoned together. Abner explains that the way to happiness is to find the thing you want most and to hold onto it, at any cost. Gadreel kills Abner, because he knows it's the only way to get what he wants with Metatron. Cas and Dean show up and capture Gadreel.

Crowley tortures Gadreel, trying to get to Sam, but it doesn't work. In desperation, Dean makes a deal with Crowley - Crowley will possess Sam, tell him what's going on, and then help him cast the angel out. In return, Dean has to let Crowley go. Crowley possesses Sam, and tells him what's up. Gadreel is cast out, and returns to his old vessel.

Dean tells Sam that he's responsible for Kevin's death and that he's "poison," always making things bad for the people around him. He says he's going to go and track down Gadreel by himself. Sam lets him go, telling him that that's not the real problem, but not saying anything more when Dean asks him to elaborate. Dean drives away, leaving Sam and Cas staring sadly after him.

Allllright! I honestly don't think I have any serious complaints to talk about. I suppose I did roll my eyes a bit at the Winchester separation at the end, since we know that's not going to last very long. However, the emotional poignancy of the scene still worked really well, especially since this time Dean was leaving Sam for his mistakes. This time, Dean's the one messing things up.

Oh! And the other thing! I'm trying to reserve judgment about Kevin's death. We don't know if he's coming back or not. Maybe he's going to come back and be super vital later in the show. However, thus far, his death is being used to fuel Dean's man-pain. If this doesn't change, then I reserve the right to be pissed. Kevin is worth so much more than that. If his death is only there to make Dean feel guilty, they could have just brought a red shirt character in for Gadreel to kill. But, like I said, I'm going to wait and see.

Now, let's talk about the good stuff!

- Crowley. Everything about Crowley. Mark Sheppard was at the top of his game this week. I love the fact that Crowley is still his ordinary sarcastic, cruel self, but at the same time we can see how Sam's blood continues to influence him. When he goes into Sam's head to help him, he firmly tells Sam that it's not his fault that Kevin is dead. He didn't have to do that, but he did. He didn't want Sam to suffer. He also seemed genuinely sorry that Kevin was gone. When Gadreel shows up in Sam's head, Crowley doesn't run away, like he told Dean he would. He stays and tries to help Sam fight. Wow. I love the bit at the end when Dean lets Crowley go, but he says they're not square - if he ever sees Crowley again - and then Crowley cuts in: "I'm dead, yes I know. I love you too." This was so funny. And Crowley did stay to talk to Abaddon, giving Dean, Sam, and Cas a chance to escape. Say what you want about Crowley, but right now he's pretty much the least guilty of the main cast members.

- Gadreel gets his old vessel back! I'm excited to see Tahmoh Penikett return to the role, since I think he'll do a great job. Also, Gadreel's character is starting to become very interesting indeed... This Abner guy seems like a bit more than a friend, if you know what I mean. Jared, as always, does an amazing job portraying the differences between Gadreel and Sam. His acting as Gadreel was particularly heartbreaking this week, as we watched, using just his facial expressions, as he decided to kill his friend (and lover?).

- Abaddon, baby. I love you. I mean, in terms of Ruler of Hell, I vote for Crowley all the way. He seems a bit more fair and less inclined to torture the innocent. You know a character is evil when Crowley seems like an acceptable alternative. And I love that. We needed a baddie without warm fuzzy feelings attached to her. And I love Abaddon for how fierce and evil she is. I also love the fact that Crowley is free to face her now. We'll see if brute force or cunning manipulation win out in the end.

- Dean and Cas! Okay, I'm sorry, but when Dean walked away at the end, the camera rested on Cas' face for a long time. And he had a very pining sort of look on his face, like it was the sad act break in a romantic drama. For real. And all throughout the episode, Dean was obviously in a really bad place, but Cas was there for him to talk to. And it was just so sweet and amazing and perfect.

- Cas. Just, Cas in general. He was so worried about Sam and it was just so freakin' cute. He rushed forward first thing when Sam started to wake up. He got there even before Dean did. What a cutie. Also, I like the continued reminders of what a bad ass he is. That random demon girl who was playing both sides... she tells Crowley the story of Cas being human, and we can see that even the demons are talking about how awesome Cas is. One complaint... I do hope that they discuss the consequences of Cas stealing someone else's grace. It can't be that easy... I wanted to see Cas struggle with being human more! I wanted the choice of getting his grace back to be a big turning point for his character!

- That scene where Sam is being tortured (or Gadreel, but Sam's body, so same difference...) and Dean is just about to burst into tears. I know I'm a terrible person for feeding off of Dean Winchester's pain, but that stuff is like crack to me. Great acting from Jensen. I always love the brotherly love feels, and that scene had it in spades.

- The end scene! Like I mentioned earlier, it's obvious that the brotherly separation won't last that long. Still, I really loved this. Sam was obviously so angry at Dean, but he didn't really get to say his piece, because Dean was beating himself up enough as is. I'll admit, as much as I don't want the brothers to be at odds, I'm excited to see Sam and Cas interact next week. We don't get to see much of that without Dean there.

So, yeah! I'm beyond excited for next week. I hope we get lots of angsty feels and lots more snarky Crowley. Seems like we've got a strong opening for the second half of the season!

8.5/10