Supernatural returns for its tenth season with “Black.” The episode was written by showrunner Jeremy Carver and directed by stalwart Executive Producer Bob Singer. There were enough nice moments in this episode to distract us from there not being a great deal of plot. This felt very much like an episode setting us up for the season, but I’m not sure that I’ve come away with a really clear idea of where we’re going – though many of the characters are on the road going somewhere by the end of the episode.
The big take away from the episode is that Sam (Jared Padalecki) IS looking for his brother this time and apparently, Dean (Jensen Ackles) isn’t quite a demon – or is he? In many ways, this episode felt like quite a lot of fan service and appeasement was going on. Crowley (Mark Sheppard) actually tells Sam that he and Dean had wondered about the length of time it took Sam to track down his brother, thinking perhaps that Sam had hit another dog – remember, Sam didn’t look for Dean in season eight because he hit a dog and fell for the vet. Something fans have never forgiven Carver for. We also getting singing Dean – something fans have wanted for a long time. And Dean is also singing karaoke – badly to be sure – but karaoke is near and dear to every fan’s heart – and one of the most popular events at Supernatural conventions. Dean is also shirtless – and pantless! – though sadly, only Crowley is privy to that. Finally, Sam’s abduction by Cole (Travis Aaron Wade) which appears to be to trap Dean for revenge for something Dean did is a well used fan fiction trope.
Of course, giving the fans what they want isn’t necessarily a bad thing. On the other hand, the number one thing fans of the show want is for the brothers to be together, and they don’t even have a scene together in this episode! In recent interviews, Carver has said that this season will have a slower build up and that the brothers will be doing a lot of self reflection. We’ve already seen that Sam was willing to go to any lengths to get his brother back. Though it’s been a long time since the brothers have been concerned about the damage they inflict on the meat suits worn by the demons they are torturing, Sam is clearly crossing a line.
The action picks up about six weeks after the finale. Dean is determinedly howling at the moon. In many respects this harkens back to Dean in the early seasons – especially season one, when he liked nothing better than to hang out at a bar, getting drunk and enjoying the music and the women with some pool sharking or poker to fill the Winchester coffers. Instead of sharing a hotel room with Sam, Dean is now tormenting Crowley by sleeping in his bed, exchanging bitch/jerk taunts, and playing games together with the locals. Dean is also bedding the local bar maid, Anne Marie (Emily Fonda). When she says that she waits tables in a roadhouse, I immediately thought how much she looked like Jo (Alona Tal). Is Dean simply seeking out the same comforts and fun that he always has?
There is lots of evidence to support Anne Marie’s assertion that Dean is a good guy pretending to be a bad guy. For instance, the note he leaves for Sam is “SamMY don’t look for me.” That’s really giving Sam what he said he wants – to be free of his brother. Dean only calls Sam, Sammy as an endearment – that would appear to be affection slipping through. He does defend Anne Marie’s honor – and he’s distracted enough by her trouble that he loses the foosball game. It’s true that the blood lust takes over, but he’s also aware of the demon watching and knows he can’t show weakness at that point. Dean’s inherent goodness is still there – but so is his crippling self-doubt and self-loathing. When he says to Anne Marie, “maybe I’m the kind of guy who sleeps with every skank in every small town bar he passes through” he’s really insulting himself as much as her. We know Dean to be the love ‘em and leave ‘em the next morning type, but we’ve also seen him generally part on good terms with the women – Amazons and Florida waitresses aside. He also kills the guy who tries to kill him, but he doesn’t kill the cashier at the gas station.
But what about his interaction with Cole? The effectiveness of Dean’s seemingly cold blooded refusal to meet any of Cole’s demands is beautifully summed up in the final shot of Cole. He’s completely flummoxed. If Dean won’t come for his brother, how can Cole get to him? In actuality, Dean is not interested in causing mayhem. He doesn’t want to be joint ruler of Hell with Crowley, he just wants to keep partying at the bar. We’ve seen Dean lose his cool on numerous occasions – and indeed when he’s murdering the guy at the gas station, he really does relish it – but he’s steely calm in telling Cole that he will track him down and kill him. Kudos to Ackles for a nuanced performance as demon Dean. He’s obnoxious and brash, but also cold and emotionless. And then there are the moments when a flash of heart or introspection flashes across his face. And what of Dean’s final words to Cole. My brother knows I’m a man of my word. We know this too about human Dean – so what word is guiding him now? Is there a secret signal to Sam here that we aren’t privy too, like Funky Town or is something else driving Dean’s actions?
Padalecki also takes Sam through his paces – from crazed and frantic as he tortures the demon to concerned and disillusioned when it seems Dean doesn’t care what happens to him. We also see that Sam was working with Cas (Misha Collins) to try to find Dean and get him back, but Castiel has clearly fallen gravely ill due to his fading grace. In the end, Sam absolves Cas from any responsibility for Sam’s shoulder being in a sling – in reality, a result of an accident incurred while wrestling with Osric Chau (Kevin) in the greenroom at a convention. Sam also tells Cas to save his strength – Sam knows the sickness is bad. Of course, that brings up a small logic problem. Cas wasn’t sick and dying last season when he’d had his grace taken away, so why is he not just becoming human again?
Cas is not granted the same empathy from Hannah (Erica Carroll), who comes to enlist Cas’ help in rounding up two rogue angels – Daniel (Giacomo Baessato) and Adina (Jud Tylor). Hannah still sees Cas as a hero who deserves to live. Cas refuses to entertain the idea that another angel will die in order for him to live. Cas tries to play peacemaker between Daniel and Hannah, but things soon spiral out of control, leaving Daniel dead, Adina on the run and Hanna and Cas both injured. Daniel’s talk of choice and freedom reminded me very much of Cas’ early journey to understanding free will and standing with the Winchesters against the rules and rulers of Heaven. Daniel remarks that he was thrown unwillingly into a land that celebrates the free and was given choices. He says he began to discover who he really was and to realize it was worth fighting for – just as Cas was sent to earth to protect Dean when he would have preferred to stay aloof in his garrison, not realizing there was anything different out there.
Hannah wants rules to bring order to the chaos she sees among human beings. Cas sees that chaos as the ferment that results in art, hope, love, and dreams. Hannah becomes increasingly appalled at Cas’ empathy towards humans, and Cas concedes that he may have been down here – with the humans – for too long. Yet God put the angels in charge of watching over humans, relishing their chaos as a direct result of free will. I particularly liked the scene around the campfire, when Collins gives that patented little head tilt that indicates Cas is struggling to make sense of something. In this case, he fully understands Daniel, but is at a loss in how to explain it to Hannah.
Overall, it’s not really clear to me where they are going with the angel story line. Clearly, something needs to happen to help Cas with his grace problem. We learn that Metatron has been locked up permanently. Is this going to leave a power vacuum? Once again we see that Cas is completely ineffectual at preventing violence among the other angels. It would seem things will remain the same in Heaven as there is yet another struggle for power. It simply feels like the same road we’ve been down so many times before.
We don’t get much of a sense of what Crowley’s ultimate game is. In retrospect, he tells Dean that everything he did for Dean last season was deliberate and that he was doing Dean a favor all along. This seems to fly in the face of him saying he didn’t know what was going to happen last season. There’s Crowley lying because that’s what demons do, and then there is retconning the story line. So now, Crowley wants to rule Hell with Dean at his side. He couldn’t have a better enforcer after all. He tells Dean that he sent the assassins – Abaddon’s loyal followers – to try to kill Dean to sharpen Dean up and to feed the mark. Apparently, if they don’t feed the mark, Dean will turn into a demon – um, what? Why does he have black eyes if he isn’t already a demon? This seems to be a huge shift in the mythology. And if Dean isn’t yet a demon, what exactly is he?
Mark Sheppard, as always, is simply a joy to watch as Crowley. And kudos for looking as fit as the two brothers this season! One of the consistent things in the show is that Crowley gets all the best lines. The Misadventures of Crowley and Squirrel as a graphic novel? Um, yes please! Crowley does give us insight into what’s going on with Sam – he’s as much upset by Dean being with Crowley, choosing Crowley over him, as Sam is upset about Dean being a demon. Of course, in Sam’s defense, he thought Dean was truly dead – and that Crowley had a demon using Dean’s meatsuit. On the other hand, Crowley knows Dean doesn’t want to see Sam and uses Sam’s pursuit to motivate Dean into moving. Is Dean ashamed of what he’s become? Is he simply finally throwing off the shackles of responsibility – to Sam and the hunting life?
A couple of final thoughts. As always the sets and cinematography were great. The karaoke bar and Cas’s dive hotel were particularly nice sets and contrasted with the idyllic setting in the woods and around the campfire with the rogue angels. It was nice to see Cas speaking so easily in metaphors of fishing with Daniel! I loved Mickey (Zachary Gulka) at the Gas ‘n Sip. I loved him pointing out that he “didn’t submit a field report while porn-guy was stabbing a guy to death right in front of” him! And then he gives Sam the phone to take to the police! Classic. What wasn’t classic in the episode was the music. It’s not news that Carver’s idea of classic rock and Kripke’s (and mine!) idea of classic rock is not the same. Not that I didn’t appreciate Pat Benatar’s “Heartbreaker” – wasn’t it a heartbreak for all of us when Dean turned into a demon? - and Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy” – so perfectly on the nose for Dean! – but they are hardly classic rock.
So, there is still some hope that Dean isn’t actually a demon – just demon-adjacent perhaps. Sam is willing to do anything to get his brother back, including dying – anybody else concerned when Sam collected that cup of demon blood? It seemed a little too much like season four again. Lots of questions asked in this episode. So what do you think? Did you like the episode? Should Cas sacrifice another angel to save himself? What is Cole’s issue with Dean? What did Cole mean when he said he was the monster? Was he being literal? What are Crowley’s plans? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
