Supernatural: A Little Slice of Kevin

Castiel: "I'm dirty."
Dean: "Purgatory will do that to you."

I went into this episode with one burning question: are they going to keep jerking us around, or are they going to bring Castiel back?

And they did! Castiel is back, and he even went all glowy blue-eyes and huge spreading angel wings on Crowley, which was exceptionally cool. And now he has an intriguing plot line of his very own with sci-fi icon Amanda Tapping! I now feel vaguely reassured that he won't just disappear in the next episode.

So why did Dean tell Sam that Cas was dead? (Or did Dean phrase it a different way?) Was it just Dean punishing himself for not saving Cas, when Cas didn't want to be saved because he felt he deserved to be punished? (They're not at all alike, are they?) The rain we got through a lot of this episode made the real world seem a bit like Purgatory. Hey, we all take our problems with us, no matter where we go.

Last week, I noted that they needed to work on their flashback segues because Sam standing there looking pensively off into the distance just didn't work. Dean did it a couple of times in this episode, and it just made me snicker a little. Although I did enjoy the Purgatory flashbacks again. (Why weren't the Leviathans as cool and scary on earth as they are in Purgatory?) Sadly, since we reached the end of Dean's tenure there and Cas is back, this was probably the last of the Purgatory flashbacks. Unless they're going to show us the angel battle Naomi mentioned that freed Cas?

So we had the return of Cas, which made me very happy. We also got Kevin and Linda Tran, and I've become very fond of the Trans. I loved Linda going overboard with the holy water (especially the turkey baster and the squirt gun), and hiring a witch off Craig's List, which of course, didn't work out that well for Kevin. And the demon bomb that left blast imprints on the wall was, as Dean would say, awesome.

I was less happy with Crowley torturing Kevin and Samandriel, not to mention exploding potential prophets. I love Mark Sheppard as Crowley, but mostly when he's being witty and/or unwillingly cooperative, not when he's this hands-on evil. Although he does do evil so well. Of course he does. He's Mark Sheppard.

So apparently, prophets in Supernatural are sort of like slayers in the Buffyverse: you can only have one at a time, and there are potentials waiting out there to be called when the active prophet dies. It was clever of Crowley to have them waiting in line to translate the God Rock. Did Kevin tell Crowley the whole truth about what was on it? I bet he didn't, finger or no finger. Kevin read it, and he remembers everything. (He was in advanced placement.) And he still has half of it.

The farewell note from the archangel Metatron was intriguing, as was Castiel's instantaneous secret reporting of Winchester doings to Naomi. The obvious conclusion to leap to is that Naomi is Metatron. Although they don't usually go for the obvious on Supernatural.

Bits and pieces, ick:

— "A Little Slice of Kevin." Not the most encouraging of episode titles, although it meant that when Crowley severed Kevin's finger, I was ready for it.

— Loved the potential prophet pretending to read the Declaration of Independence off the God Rock. I also loved Sam pulling off a sneak exorcism while pretending to talk on his cell phone.

— Someone finally mentioned the prophet Chuck, who has to be dead for Kevin to be the active prophet. Are we ever going to find out what happened to Chuck? I'd love to see him again.

— The Winchesters gave the Trans to Garth. Sort of like stashing them at Bobby's until they're needed in another episode.

— This week: Atlantic, Iowa, and wherever the Randy Raccoon Preschool might be. The boys were agents Roth and Lloyd; I don't know who they are. The motel room had a shabby fifties/sixties decor, with wood paneling, terrible wallpaper, and a sickly yellow and green color scheme.

— I don't usually mention the music (even though I love it) but I thought "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" went perfectly with the Cas getting out of Purgatory plot.

Quotes:

Sam: "I was going to say 'you look like you've seen a ghost,' but you'd probably be stoked."

Sam: "Why would demons want them?"
Dean: "Why would demons want anything?"

Crowley: (re: torture) "Sorry. Once you get going, it's really hard to stop."

Linda: (to the witch) "You know the rules. Casual encounters. That means no questions asked."
Kevin: "No, Mom. That's another part of Craig's List."

Linda: "You betrayed us! How could you?"
Witch: "I'm mercurial."

Crowley: "So. Read any good tablets lately?"

Kevin: "... and this one describes sealing the gates of Hell."
Crowley: "So it's true. It's there. Clearly, humans cannot possess this thing. What was God thinking? We'll get back to that."

Kevin: "It's like a personal note."
Crowley: "A personal note from God?"
Kevin: "From the archangel Metatron."
Crowley: "The scribe? Suck-up, took down God's word, picked up his cleaning."

Crowley: "It's all very West Side Story, but let's be logical. You look like hell, and I should know. You're not up for this. (Cas starts to glow) Maybe you can get it up. But you can't keep it up. (wings expanding) You're bluffing!"

Very much enjoyed this one. Three and a half out of four turkey basters,

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.

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