Supernatural: The Scorpion and the Frog (13x08)

Yeah, okay. That was fun.

Cons:

If I were to complain, it would be to say that the pacing felt maybe a little sluggish up top. It took a smidge too long to get to the actual heist part of this episode, and then those scenes took a hot second to really get going. But this is a minor complaint in the scheme of things.

I also wish that we could have gotten a bit of a status update on our favorite angel, but I understand why we didn't. This was a C-plot episode that was still driving the force of the A-plot in an interesting way, so I can't complain too much.

Pros:

Actually, that's the first thing I'll compliment here - this was a C-plot episode in terms of its trappings, but it was actually tied into the A-plot in a clever way. I always get so sick and tired of C-plot episodes where it seems like Sam and Dean are being almost irresponsible in taking a break from their main mission to go on a small monster-of-the-week hunt. But this week, Sam and Dean are contacted by a demon who has a locator spell that could work to find Jack, so the mission they undertake is actually part of their deal with this demon to further their main goal. Very clever framing device!

The heist feel of the episode was pretty fun. I liked the hacker girl, and how she and Dean ended up having a fun little bond. It reminded me a bit of the older brother/younger sister vibe that Dean had going with Charlie, which made me a bit nostalgic. We also got some Indiana Jones moments, with a chamber full of poisonous darts that needs to be cracked through the solving of a puzzle. Sam solves it by pushing the immortal bad guy through the room and using up all of the darts on him, so that the brothers can pass through unharmed. That was a hilarious subversion of expectations!

This is a small thing, but I appreciate that this episode took the time to show Sam and Dean's protectiveness of each other, and concern for each other's well-being. As they go their separate ways during the heist, Sam tells Dean: "don't get dead," and Dean replies "you too." I remember being a little miffed when Sam left at the end of the cowboy episode, leaving Dean to finish the hunt by himself, because I feel like these two are so attuned to each other and are so used to having each other's backs. There's another moment where Dean, impatient that his part of the plan is taking too long, grumbles his worry about something happening to Sam because of the delay. When one of his companions says that if Sam is too stupid to do his part, that'll be on him, Dean gets very defensive.

The physical comedy from Jensen Ackles was excellent. Apparently, one of the keys to opening the bad guy's safe is the blood of a man who's been to hell and back. While this is certainly a dark reminder of Dean's past, it's used for comedic purposes here as Dean's body becomes an unwilling compass towards the safe, wheeling around out of his control and leading them onward. He then has to stick his hand into a scary gargoyle mouth, and while he ends up with only a small pinprick in his finger, the buildup is classic "Yellow Fever" Dean, with a lot of whining and freaking out over nothing.

The whole purpose, in terms of the A-plot, is to get the locator spell from the demon, and unfortunately the Winchesters end up failing in that regard. They save the safe-cracker, Alice, who made a demon deal and was in service to a demon in order to avoid going to Hell. She burns her captor's bones, but unfortunately the spell goes up in flames as well. I like that the boys chose to make this sacrifice to save a life, and Dean even comments that it felt good to be helping people. Sam is relieved to hear his brother talk with such optimism again. This was such a nice way to cap the episode. We've been following Dean down a dark path this season, but the return of his boyfriend Castiel seems to have turned things around for him.

I'm excited for what next week's mid-season finale will bring us! I want Mary back, please!

8.5/10