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Supernatural: Torn and Frayed

Castiel: "I need both of you, as you say, to 'stow your crap.' Can you do that?"

At least Dean and Sam are aware that something is not right with Cas. (Again.)

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that angels that torture and kill other angels are probably bad. Alfie's screams made Castiel flash back to when Naomi was what, drilling into his eye? Is Naomi controlling all of the angels, or is she working for someone? I would love it if this meant another trip to Heaven. "Dark Side of the Moon" was one of my favorite episodes.

Dammit, I liked Samandriel. Hated hearing him scream. (The second time through, I fast forwarded through most of it.) Even worse that Castiel was forced to killed him, because Cas doesn't need more bad crap on his conscience. How many babies can he save to make up for it? (And how adorable was that baby scene?)

Maybe I just love religious tongue-in-cheek or something, but I loved the burning bush. (Poor innocent bystander guy.) Of course, I also love Crowley. And how fascinating that, like Leviathan and demons, there's also a tablet for angels? Who gets one first? Of course, the Winchesters have Kevin the Prophet stowed secretly on a house boat somewhere in the metaphorical desert, so they're one up on the other two factions.

At any rate, the assault on the ninth deserted warehouse, the demon bomb, and destroying the anti-angel sigils with spray cans was again like a return to the best of the angel/demon stuff on Supernatural. And we may have lost poor Alfie, but at least we've finally left behind Dean's buddy movie relationship with vampire Benny, and Sam's romance novel relationship with Amelia. It was especially nice that it happened after Dean finally let Sam go and stopped pressuring him. It was like the boys finally grew up and accepted each other. Maybe spending quality time with other people was what did it.

I rather liked Amelia. Benny, not so much, and especially now with the broad hints that he's about to fall off the wagon. I'm betting the Winchesters will have to take him out by the end of the season. I bet we haven't seen the last of Amelia, either. I sort of want Sam to tell her what he really does for a living, just to see her reaction.

And I especially loved the early parallel scenes of Dean hiding BustyAsianBeauties dot com from Castiel, while Sam was watching a documentary on dung beetles. Yes, that's our dynamic Winchester duo.

Bits and pieces:

— This time, the road so far was set to the Bob Seger tune, "Kathmandu." Great song.

— Castiel showed up twice and scared Dean and Sam individually.

— The type of torture Crowley and his henchman Viggo inflicted on Samandriel looked a lot like a crown of thorns, didn't it?

— This week: Hastings and Geneva, Nebraska, and wherever Garth's houseboat "Fizzle's Folly," wherever that was.

Quotes:

Dean: "So who snatched Heaven's most adorable angel?"

Dean: "I wanted to ask you a few questions about your... ambush. Heh."
Hinkley: "I'd laugh too if it didn't feel like the sun just ate my face."
Castiel: (to Dean) "It's a metaphor."

Castiel: "The amount of pain an angel must be in, not just to manifest through shrubbery but to burn, Dean? We have to find him before it's too late."
Manifest through shrubbery. Do I like shrubs? That's between me and my God.

Dean: "Well, will you look at that. Our ninth abandoned factory. Ain't that America. What do you say this doesn't pan out, we head back to that beer and bacon happy hour about a mile back?"
Beer and bacon happy hour. Ain't that America.

Crowley: "What on earth could you possibly need now, Viggo? I've given you every torture instrument known to man, short of a Neil Diamond album."

Terrific episode. Three out of four mothers of Zen,

Billie
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Billie Doux has been reviewing Supernatural for so long that Dean and Sam Winchester feel like old friends. Courageous, adventurous, gorgeous old friends.

8 comments:

  1. Thanks again for an awesome review! I really enjoyed this episode.
    Unlike most of their other fights, the scenes with Sam and Dean "hashing it out" felt "real", I was glad to see that Sam was still really mad with Dean for making him fear (again) for a girl he loves.
    Sam almost slamming the door on Dean, mentioning Jess (that’s the second time this season) Dean leaving Sam in the hotel room and then not wanting to work with him when Cas brings him in.
    Their issues with each other lasted the whole episode practically too, without being resolved.

    But, wow! These two men fight so well together; I don't think they even realize it.

    On a last note, I understand that Dean had to let Benny go (I guess in fairness to Sam, since he let Amelia go), but for Dean this loyalty thing is in his DNA. It seemed like he should have at least had the cup of coffee and then cut it off.
    And I really thought Sam was going to be the one with that disappointed face in the hotel room.

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  2. It was nice to see Amanda Tapping again.
    I am done with my Sanctuary marathon and i'm having an Amanda Tapping withdrawal syndrome. :)
    Stargate is my next marathon.
    Nice review, Billie.

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  3. Awesome episode.. its about time Sam brush off Amelia... she was annoying as hell. but unfortunately we'll probably see her again... :/
    Maybe Benny can eat her face, than Sam and Dean will kill him, and look at that - 2 birds 1 stone.

    1 thing i didn't get tho, Cas was wondering around curing little babies (how cute was that???) why didn't he cure the burning man that the sun ate his face?? poor guy.

    and poor Cas!!! what was she doing to him?? and why??? come on he's been through enough... i hope the boys will save him from her.
    speaking of finally Dean + Sam and some beer, its been a long time coming. i missed them.

    Can't wait for next week.

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  4. I liked this episode but I was sad that once again, the brothers only rely on each other and Sam had to give up hope of having a real and normal life.
    I am really intrigued with Naomi and Cas, what is her endgame?

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  5. I like Benny, actually. Far more so than Amelia. (It feels like we've been there before, doesn't it?) And I thought it was kind of a dick move on Dean's part, to just abandon his comrade right when said comrade needed him the most. It felt rather like an AA member calling his sponsor from outside the liquor store, and being told "Don't drink, dumbass. And never call me again." What's the most probable outcome?

    When Benny DOES kill again (and I'm sure he will, with no-one to lean on), it'll be one of the few black marks on Dean's conscience that he well and truly deserves.

    And I STILL haven't forgiven him for knifing Kaylee.

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  6. Im curious, what are the other black marks that Dean deserves?

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  7. I hope that I’m wrong, but this felt like the beginning of the end to me. I watched it twice, and was even more convinced the second time through. I’ve always suspected that this is not a story with a happy ending and this episode set up pretty clearly how unhappy everyone already is. Kevin is lonely and miserable; Castiel is in real trouble; Amelia has had her heart broken; Benny is going off the wagon and very soon.

    But, this has always been the story of our boys and this one, like you said, Billie, felt like an old time episode, almost an homage. From the argument at the beginning that felt like the first honest conversation these two have had in a long time, through the awesome scene in the factory where they were working together again, until the end when each chooses the other. What was so sad, however, was that the two of them are sitting there and neither of them is happy; neither of them knows what is coming; both seem resigned that this is how it is going to be. I cried.

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  8. FYI, Alfie is played by the same actor who was in the first season episode, Bugs.

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