Supernatural: The Bad Seed (11x03)

The number one thing I like about this season so far is that they're pushing the story forward. Quickly. I know we'll have some C-plot episodes to contend with in the coming weeks, but these first three episodes have done a lot more than simply establish a villain. They've already set up all our major players in interesting ways. We'll be adding Metatron to the mix soon, and then the real fun (read: nightmare) can begin. Let's take a look at this week's adventure!

Cons:

The script this week had some really clunky moments. The most awkward one was when Sam and Dean encounter a witch who had recently been with Rowena. They ask her to scry, and she pretends not to know what that is. Sam angrily says that she knows exactly what it is, and then angrily explains it to her anyway, obviously as a way to let the audience know what scrying is. There were also moments in the bunker when Sam told Dean that they were trying to find Metatron and Rowena. Obviously Sam was telling the audience, but there was no reason to say it out loud like this in-story, since Dean obviously already knew what they were doing. Very clunky.

Most people who spend time on Tumblr have probably already seen this next complaint. Towards the end of the episode, as Dean is looking for Cas, who has disappeared from the bunker, he sees a hot girl and stops to hit on her. What? I don't... understand. The only way this would make sense is if that woman were somehow important to the story and they were using Dean's flirting as a way to draw attention to her. But that doesn't seem to be the case. He's literally worried that Cas is going to murder some innocent person, but he has time to awkwardly hit on someone? It doesn't make sense! I'm not pissed about this because it undermines Destiel or whatever. I'm pissed because it was so unlike Dean Winchester to get so blatantly distracted in such a tense moment. I really don't understand the reasoning about this at all.

Pros:

Crowley and Amara. Down in Hell, little Amara is growing and learning quickly. The little girl is ravenous not only for knowledge, but also for souls. Crowley keeps her fed with his Demons. Amara seems to already have big plans for the world, and Crowley is nervous that she might be impossible to control. I love all the things that are being set up here. It's awesome to see the pacing go along at such a nice clip. We're already seeing Amara grow into a teenage girl. There's no waiting around and dragging things out. I hope they keep going with that.

The most interesting thing between Crowley and Amara is their debate about the future of the world. Crowley talks about how awesome the world will be once everything is evil and dark, but Amara doesn't think Crowley would really be happy if everybody was evil. Crowley considers this, and decides that Amara is right - the interesting part of  being evil is watching formerly good people succumb to darkness. I like these debates about what the world should be like, if planned by the Darkness and the King of Hell. Of course, Crowley is quickly going to lose control of Amara. I can't wait.

Rowena's quest for the Mega Coven is hilarious. Now that Rowena has the Book of the Damned and the Codex, she's all set to take over the witch world. However, nobody seems particularly interested in joining her "Mega Coven," which she says will be even bigger and better than the Grand Coven. I love the looks on everybody's faces when they hear "Mega Coven." What a ridiculous name. Even so, Rowena remains threatening. I can't wait to see how she weaves into the story in future. This week, she got captured by the Winchesters, broke Cas free of the curse, and then ran off, unwilling to trust Sam and Dean to set her free as they promised they would. The boys tried to get Rowena to turn over the Book of the Damned, but she of course refused. They do get the Codex, though, so that's something.

There was a brief moment in this episode where Rowena let slip that Sam had promised to kill Crowley in exchange for Rowena getting rid of the Mark of Cain. I'm really glad this moment was included. It wasn't there for the sake of any ongoing plot points there - it's pretty clear that Rowena isn't holding Sam to his side of the deal right now. This was brought up so that Dean could chastise Sam for lying to him. This is such an important recurring theme, and I'm beyond thrilled to see that they're continuing to reinforce it. This is a new era for the Winchesters, where hopefully they find a way to be a real team again.

I loved the scene with the Angel and Demon in a bar. Basically, these two low-level employees are casual drinking buddies, only pitted against each other because of their employers. They talk about how the Darkness is causing chaos, and how they could both be out of a job. This was really clever. I was, however, getting a bit annoyed with some of the online reaction to this scene. People were lauding this as an enormously clever and original way of presenting the battle between good and evil. And here I am going... uh... Good Omens is exactly like this. These two might as well have been Crowley and Aziraphale. But whatever. Even though it's clearly referencing that brilliant work of literature, it's still funny and interesting.

I saved Cas for last. Poor darling! Misha did a great job of portraying the helplessness of Cas' situation. He was really messed up. I, like almost everybody watching the episode, adored seeing Cas in the bunker again with Sam and Dean there to help him. I really just wish he could stay with them for the whole season. I loved all the moments of concern, as Sam and Dean care for him. They wrap him up in a blanket, and it's precious. I understand why it's important to establish separate storylines for Cas, so he can have an identity outside of the Winchesters. But at the same time, it's important for us to have scenes like this, where we can remember that the Winchesters and Cas are family, even if it is an unconventional one.

And then there's the Destiel angle. I'll admit - I saw a lot of the Tumblr reactions before I watched the episode, so I think I was expecting a hell of a lot more. But honestly, there is a lot of Destiel material here. I don't think episode is a landmark that proves Destiel is real, but I do think it did a couple of things narratively that move their relationship in the right direction. Sam and Dean are both shown caring for Cas in this episode, but Dean is the one who wraps him up in a blanket. When Cas gets free of his cuffs, Sam discovers that he's missing. So what does he do? He goes straight to Dean, who tracks him down. It would have worked just as well for the story to have Sam find Cas, and to have Dean be the one to bring Rowena to break the curse. It was a conscious choice to have it be Dean to cup Cas's face in his hands and make sure he's okay. Whether it's romantic or not (it totally is, let's be real) it's certainly interesting that Dean's the one.

I'm a bit torn about the fact that Dean won't let Cas heal him. Cas tries to apologize for beating him up while under the curse, but Dean insists that it's not Cas' fault. Dean says that he had it coming. He's obviously referencing his near-homicidal attack on Cas at the end of last season. I wish Cas could have healed Dean, because I think it would have made Cas feel better. Letting the injuries fester seems like a way for Dean to feel better about himself. But even so, I'm glad that they're acknowledging Dean's guilt over what happened. When Dean and Cas didn't have any scenes together in last season's finale, I was pretty sure that there would never be a conversation about the fight. I'm so glad I was wrong.

Like I said at the start of this review, things are coming together quite nicely. Cas is healed, the boys are working on their honesty, Crowley's got his hands full with Amara, and Rowena is gearing up to wreak more havoc. I can't wait!

7.5/10