Carry On My Wayward Soooooon
Ah, here we go. So let's see what we had this season – Cas got Sam out of the cage, and had no soul for a year, in which he worked with Samuel and did some nasty crap. Dean found out Sam's alive, left theBraedens to hunt with him. They worked for Crowley to get Sam's soul back, which eventually happened, but thanks to Death. He put up a wall in Sam's head so he won't remember hell or the past year.
Dean and Sam hunted down Eve, the Mother of all Monsters, and killed her, but no before finding out Crowley, who they thought was killed by Cas, is alive and working with Cas. They're both searching for purgatory to get some souls, so Cas can be powerful enough to beat Raphael, and Crowley can…Just be more powerful, since he's now king of Hell. The brothers and Cas are now enemies. Think that covers it. Let's get this show on the road (So far)! Ok, lame puns ending now.
A Man With No Memory Walks Into A Bar…
We start with Sam running from the cops. Wait, what? Why is Sam running from the police? Was he caught red-handed stabbing a Shifter? Did Dean sneak into a Sorority and pin it on him? Did he get drunk, went to the Police station and started shouting they can't do their job right while egging the place?
As he runs, we see Castle Storage, AKA John's lock-up, in the background. That's weird, how did it get over there? He runs into a bar, and the bartender tells him they're closed. She sees the sirens and is about to beat it him up, but lets him stay when he tells her he doesn't remember anything.
Sam doesn’t remember jack squat, but knows that he needs to be somewhere, to stop something. He sees a book by H.P. Lovecraft (I don't go to bars much, but I find it kinda weird there are books at a bar) and has a flash of the events of last episode, including a new one, of a motel called Nite Owl (Might be my inner geek, but first thing that came to my mind when I saw this was the Watchmen character).
Castiel, You Monster (Killer)
He finds out the motel isn't far, and the nice bartender agrees to drive him there, even though he might be a rapist \ serial killer \ psycho \ all of the above. Sam says his room is "nearest to the fire escape", and they pass by someone in the corridor. Hey, isn't that…Oh, guess not. They use her credit card to unlock the door, where they find some hunter research on the wall. Sam sees a paper clipping about the missing Dr. Visyak, and has another blast from the past.
He, Dean and Bobby were supposed to meet Visyak, but find her fatally wounded, dying. She tells them Crowley and Cas tortured her about how to open purgatory, and she told them everything. They need the blood of a virgin and of a purgatory native, both of which they have and to wait for the lunar eclipse, which is on the following day. Cas appears, and asks them again to stand down, and again, they refuse. So Cas goes to dras tic measures, and breaks down the Great Wall of Sam.
Sam snaps back, and says he knows his name. He also heard Bobby's, so he looks up his address and finds it. He and the bartender go out, where the Impala is parked, and are about to part ways when they are almost shot. Wait, the Impala's just waiting there? Now this looks really weird. And if that's not enough, the guy who tried to kill them was…Sam?
A Sam Within a Sam? Samception!
OK, first of all – CALLED IT. Somehow, I knew Sam would end up in the panic room. And there you have it. It appears that after Cas broke the wall, Sam went into a coma, meaning all of the events we've seen so far, except the flashbacks, are happening inside his head. Dean and Bobby are clueless about how to help him, so they decide to try and find Cas.
Meanwhile, back in Sam's head, he and the bar lady are driving at night, away from the evil Sam who almost killed them. In the real world, Dean flashes a light in Sam's eye, and suddenly…It's day in Samville! Sam stops the car, and decides to go and investigate the area (I didn't really get why. Maybe the sudden light change).
I Am Sam
Sam goes into the forest, but gets a surprise pistol whip from…Soul-less Sam! I missed this guy. If last episode showed us Jensen's great acting skills, this one reminds us that Jared is also awesome. I love it when an actor plays two polar opposite characters. Take Tom Welling in Smallville, for example. It's amazing to see Jared completely change the character each shot. Anyway, Soul-less Sam makes Sam realize he's dreaming.
"Your BFF Cas brought the hell wall tumbling down, and you, pathetic infant that you are, shattered into pieces. Piece…Piece." (Raises gun - "Piece". Ok, that didn't happen :P ).
Soul-less Sam tells him, basically, that "There can only be one". Sam flees for his life, while evil Sam tries to shoot him down (For a guy with no soul who's been loose for a year, he's kind of a lousy shot). He then sees Sam's jacket and shoots it, thinking he killed him, but then…
Goodbye, soul-less Sam. For real this time. But he doesn't die without some dying words.
"You think I'm bad? Wait till you meet the other one."
A Sam worse than Soul-less Sam? That sounds plain scary. Soul-less Sam dies, and Sam absorbs his memories of the year he wandered around with no soul. This causes coma Sam (Seriously, how can you keep up with all of them?) to spaz, which scares Dean.
"There Goes Your Leverage"
Sam returns to the bar lady…Who is actually not real! (Well, of course she wasn't real, it's a dream, but she isn't real-real…You know what I mean!). Apparently Soul-less Sam shot her point blank when some monster guy tried to use her as a human shield. Oops.
"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry."
-"Not as sorry as you're gonna be."
Wow, all the people in his dream are creepy as hell.
In the real world…Balthazar's back! He gives Dean and Bobby the location of Cas and Crowley (Bootbock, Kansas? That can't possibly be a real place… Can it?) But says he can't zap them there, since he's already in danger for betraying Cas.
MEANWHILE IN THE LEGION OF DOOM!
Sorry, in Cas and Crowley's hideout, Cas says he did some thinking about their arrangement, and decided to leave Crowley out of the deal. Crowley claims, truthfully, that the whole thing was his idea, but Cas is stubborn.
"You think I'm handing all that power to the king of hell? I'm neither stupid nor wicked."
WRONG. Oh, Cas, you are so wicked! You're being pure wickedness right now. Cas then gives Crowley two choices – "Flee or die". I think this is the point where Cas turns from a douchebag to truly evil. And it only gets worse from here…
Please Tell Me Those Are Sunburns…
Back in dreamland, Sam reaches Bobby's house and finds…Another Sam!
"I'm the one that remembers hell." That's also why you probably look like hell.
Again, Jared superbly plays two roles. Hell-Sam begs Sam to stay in dreamland, to find Jesse and live there happily ever after (This reminded me of What is And What Should Never Be, when all of Dean's family asks him to stay). He says he knows him, that he's too weak and the memories of hell will destroy him (But didn't they already? I mean, that's why he's there, isn't it?). But Sam also says he knows himself, and he must return to help Dean and Bobby, no matter what. So Hell-Sam lets him kill him, and he absorbs the memories from the cage.
Another One Bites The Dust
Meanwhile, Cas informs Balthazar that Dean is on his trail, so there must be a traitor among them. Balthazar, like always, is transparent like a glass door.
"Ah…Holy hell. Who is it? It's that bloody Cherub, isn't it?"
A.Yay for Cupid reference. B. Come on, Balthy. All angels are freakin' glass doors! Cas is obviously onto you, either fight him or get the hell outta there! But little, old Balthy can't read Cas, and pays for it dearly.
NOOOOOO! WHY MUST THE GOOD DIE YOUNG?! There goes my 2nd favorite angel. Goodbye, Balthazar. I hope to see you again one day, somehow. And Cas is getting more and more evil…
Bobby and Dean scout Cas's hideout, when Crowley swoops in, in the form of a demon cloud, and flips over the Impala while they're in it. Wait…The Impala.Flipped.OVER? You DO NOT damage the Metalicar! There are a lot of lines being crossed in the last few scenes, and I won't have it!
The Demon's Revenge
Crowley appears and tells Cas it's time to "re-renegotiate" the terms of their deal. Cas poofs behind him (Really? You could've just stepped forward, he knows you're there…What did you gain with that?) and puts a hand on him…It's not very effective.
"Sweaty hands, mate." Ha.
Apparently, Crowley is smiting-proof 'cause he's now working with…Chick Raphael! And then Cas says what's probably his dumbest line ever:
"You fool. Raphael will deceive and destroy you at the speed of thought."
Riiiiiiiiiiiight. 'Cause you didn't try anything even remotely like that just now, did you, Cas? Nah, that's not you. You stick to your words. I think this is the first time Crowley is against the boys, but I'm rooting for him. Someone needs to give Cas a good ass-whooping.
Raphael says she \ he promised Crowley immunity, in exchange for their monster blood. Raphael says that only he \ she (\ it?) can be the new God. Wow. A black woman was never president, but now wants to be God. Go figure. (Again, I'm saying all in a humorous spirit. No racism \ Chauvinism intended.) Now it's Crowley's turn to give Cas choices.
"Flee…Or die."
OH SNAP.
Uh Oh…
Crowley and Raph start chanting the spell, while Dean and Bobby regain consciousness. They sneak in and try to assassinate Raph, but she has angel instincts, and Crowley sends the boys flying. (When Bobby fell down the stairs, I feared for a second he'll become cripple again. But he didn't. PHEW). Crowley finishes the spell…And nothing happens! Cas shows up and tells them he switched the bloods, and did the ritual himself.
"You can't imagine what it's like. They're all inside me. Millions upon Millions of souls."
-"Sounds sexy."
Gotta love Crowley's comebacks. The king of hell poofs out, but Raphael doesn't (Cas is probably blocking his poofing abilities). He snaps his fingers, and paints the wall with Raph's internal organs.
OMFG
Dean asks Cas to take the souls out of him, but it's too late. He's gone mad with power. But Dean's always been stubborn, and begs Cas.
"We were family once. I would've died for you. Almost did a few times."
-"You're just saying that because I won."
Ok, this is a very serious, intense scene, but I couldn't help from laughing out loud at this response. Dean always called Cas a child, and this proves he is. That is such a 4-year-old thing to say. And the way he said it…Like Dean just said Cas was cheating after losing in a board game.
"You're not my family, Dean. I have no family."
A second later, Sam literally stabs him in the back. Hooray for family. But Cas can't be killed with an angel-killing sword.
"Because I'm not an angel anymore. I'm your new God. A better one. So you will bow down, and profess your love onto me, your lord…Or I shall destroy you."
DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
THE END
HO-LY FREA-KIN' CRAAAAAAAAAAAP. Wh…What? Why? How?!
*Slaps self*
OK, Sorry about that. But seriously, what the #@$?! First of all, I don't think Cas is God-God. 'Cause there already is a God. Speaking of which, doesn't he have a say in all this? I mean, maybe he can ignore the apocalypse, but someone steals your title and you're just gonna sit there?
So although there are many questions now and this is a major cliffhanger, I'm not tearing my hair out or anything.
But still, this episode was a fantastic way to end the season, and I give it 10 pieces of Sam out of 10.
Before a quick season review, I just wanna point out something that bugged me. A few weeks ago, it was posted here that Chuck will return. And that kinda didn't happen. I'm not blaming anyone for posting a false spoiler, I mean, whoever posted it must have had a reason, but…What happened?
Now, about the season. It started off in a Meh-ish tone. The premiere was pretty bad, IMO, and the following 2 episodes were no improvement. Then there were 3 great episodes – Jensen's directional debut, "Weekend at Bobby's", was fantastic. I'm now eagerly waiting for the 2nd episode of season 7, which he will also direct. Episode 5 had a good mix of humor, in the form of Twilight jabs, and action. And the moment we realized something's wrong with Sam. Episode 6, with the people telling the truth, was also great. I loved the tension between the brothers. I know a lot of people liked Family Matters, but I didn't find it that big of a deal. Sure, it was a good episode, but not a season highlight.
Then came episode 8…Sigh. One of, if not the, worst episodes of the season. It had no point, other than to show Crowley was controlling Sam's fate. But then the show went back on track. The Fairy episode had some good comedy from both Jensen and Jared, and was overall funny. "Caged Heat" was intense and had some nice twists (And the priceless scene of Cas watching porn). And then the pre-hellatius episode, Appointment in Samarra, which is one of the best episodes of the season, if not the series. A brilliant episode, start to finish.
The return from Hellatius was great. We had the Rock back, Sam had his soul back, and show felt just like old times. "Unforgiven" was also good (Though I've seen a lot of bad reviews about it, which I don't understand). But then the show crashed again with Mannequin. Not only were Lisa and Ben there, the episode was overall pretty boring. The only nice part of it was the scene Dean was chased by the Impala.
But then it picked up the pace back big time. "The French Mistake" is without doubt a series classic, and probably one of the best Meta episodes ever made. "And Then There Were None" was great, fast-paced, killed off Campbells like flies, and had Rufus ("If anything crawls outta anybody, somebody step on it"). "My Heart Will Go On" was funny, touching, and overall terrific.
This great streak continued with the boys going to the Wild West, the surprising death of Eve and the rise of Crowley, and the whole season re-told from Cas's point of view. I gave my 2 cents about episode 21 Two days ago, so go and read it if you want my opinion on it.
Overall season rating – 8 Jefferson Starships out of 10.
