After last season's rather disappointing finale, I was approaching this premiere with skepticism. Could Supernatural really give me a premiere that would reinvigorate the show? Put it back on track? Get me interested? I'm happy to say that the answer is YES. I have a few questions/concerns, but for the most part I think this premiere bodes very well for the season.
Cons:
We learn in this episode that the Darkness, newly released, is a woman. Now, this is totally fine in theory - I've always liked the bad-ass female villains on this show. Lilith, Ruby, Abaddon, and now Rowena. But if they're going for an "Original Sin" angle, or, even worse, trying to do a twisted love interest thing with Dean, I'll be really annoyed. I guess what I'm saying is - they haven't done anything to piss me off with this yet, but I'm keeping a close eye on the situation.
This other complaint is... well, it's complicated. I really do ship Destiel, truly, but this episode reinforced a really uncomfortable trend in the relationship between Dean and Cas. I loved their phone conversation, and I'll talk about it in a minute, but I also hate the fact that Dean knows Cas is in trouble, but instead of telling him to meet them somewhere, he just immediately starts asking him questions, and using him for information once again. Cas is a great plot device when it comes to information about ancient powers, but I really wish Dean didn't jump right past Cas being in trouble, and straight to how he could help them out. I don't know... am I being too sensitive?
Pros:
I'll briefly talk about the Cas and Crowley subplots, both of which I thought were great ways to up the tension of these two characters, and set up interesting new ideas for the season. Cas is still under the effect of Rowena's spell. He flashes back to stabbing Crowley's vessel, but he knows Crowley escaped. Cas is worried he's going to hurt more people, so he prays to Heaven to help him from doing more harm. While talking to Sam and Dean, Cas tells them that he probably won't be able to see them for quite a while. Angels show up and take him with them. But Cas then realizes - he's not being taken to Heaven. They tie him up. Uh oh! After everything that Cas has been through, it breaks my heart to see him hurting once again. But at the same time, the Angels are probably right not to trust him anymore. It's an interesting and twisted situation, and I can't wait to see how the Darkness affects Cas moving forward.
Let's talk about the Destiel moment, even if it was brief. I loved the expression on Cas' face when he learned that the Mark was gone. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes, sheer relief on his face. Even with everything else going on, that's one bit of good news that Cas can cling to. And then there's Dean's voice when Cas says that they won't be seeing each other for a while. Dean sounds like he's close to freaking out, and he keeps saying Cas' name. When he and Sam are trying to figure out their next move, Dean's first priority is to find Cas - he says it more than once throughout the episode. Yes! I'm all about that.
Crowley, meanwhile, ends up in a new vessel, temporarily. The woman he possesses is married, and when he shows up at her house, wearing her meat-suit, he finds her husband and their married best friends, ready to participate in an orgy. Hilariously, Crowley actually participates in said orgy before calling for help from his demon followers. That's awesome, and so, so Crowley. Crowley is in a rather tenuous position, as his minions point out. Rowena is probably going to be after him, and there are rumors in Hell that the Darkness has been released, and... apparently there's noise from the Cage. Lucifer and/or Michael are down there, maybe trying to warn those above. Oh my God! We got a mention of Lucifer and Michael! It's like it's Christmas! I will freak out if Lucifer comes back. I will freak. out. Please please please.
The main plot focuses on our boys, as they wake up after the Darkness rushed over the impala. Dean is gone, and Sam is freaking out. Sam finds Dean in a field a mile away from the car, where he apparently had an encounter with the Darkness. Throughout the episode we get these little flashes of Dean's conversation with the Darkness. She thanks Dean for freeing her, and she also talks about how she'll never hurt him, and he'll never hurt her - they're linked by the Mark of Cain. That's intriguing! As I mentioned earlier, if they go a love interest route I'll be mighty annoyed, but if not, I'm really interested in this idea that maybe if you hurt one, you hurt the other (a la Charlie and Dark!Charlie).
The first and most immediate effect of the Darkness is that it turns people into these rabid zombie-like creatures. Sam and Dean find a state trooper who takes them to a nearby hospital, where they find a man with his newborn child hiding in a supply closet. The zombies have killed pretty much the rest of the town. They realize that this new father has been infected by this crazy feral disease. He agrees to run off and stay scarce, if Jenny, the state trooper, will take his newborn daughter and protect her. He names the little girl Amara.
From here, we get one of the best conversations in Supernatural history. Dean is all for going out guns blazing, taking out the diseased people and rescuing the baby at any cost. Sam reminds them that they're supposed to be saving people - all the people. Shouldn't they be thinking about finding a cure? And then Sam points out that this is their fault - collectively. Dean had the Mark, and Sam ripped it from him, releasing the Darkness out into the world. Sam says that he would do it again in a heartbeat, to save his brother. Just like I'm sure Dean doesn't regret killing Death instead of Sam, even if ultimately it led to a lot of bad stuff for the world. And then, Sam says that this is a problem. He openly acknowledges how messed up and codependent they are. He tells Dean that they're supposed to try to save everybody. Not just the baby, and not just each other. Wow!
Dean actually seems to hear Sam, and they make a plan - Sam will stay and be the bait, while Dean gets Jenna and baby Amara out of the hospital and away from the town. This plan is successful, except for one significant snag - Sam hides in a supply closet, but unfortunately for him it was already occupied by another feral human. She bleeds on Sam, and he is infected. Oh no!
As the episode ends, we see a tiny little Mark of Cain on baby Amara's chest, in the same place where it rested on the adult version of the Darkness. I love this twist - not only does it complicate our image of the Darkness as an evil seductress, it also puts another spin on Dean's determination to save the baby. I mean, sure, Dean wanting to save a little girl isn't out of character - but he completely lost sight of the big picture when he was talking about saving her. Now we have to wonder - was his fervor to save her in part motivated by this weird connection between Dean and the Darkness? Wow!
In reading other reviews of this episode, I noticed some people were annoyed that Sam didn't tell Dean he'd been infected. But I'm thinking Sam doesn't want Dean to rush straight back and get himself killed. It's like the Croatoan episode all over again - but this time Sam's not going to let Dean rush back into danger just to end up dying right along with him. I really, really hope we get some good angst next episode - I want Dean to realize Sam is dying and freak out. That's basically my main form of sustenance when it comes to this show.
I guess I'll stop here before I get carried away. This wasn't one of those premieres that just blows you away with the awesomeness of every moment. Instead, it was a solid establishing episode. It made me feel like they have a plan, and that it's a good one. I'm excited!
8/10
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