Supernatural “Last Call” was written by Jeremy Adams and was directed by Amyn Kaderali. I was thrilled so see Christian Kane (Leverage, The Librarians) guest star as Lee and get to show off his two best skills: fighting and singing! The episode also features Cas’s (Misha Collins) return to the fight. It also looks like Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Eileen (Shoshonnah Stern) are headed towards more than friendship… The episode is mainly a nice break from the more serious storylines, but it also includes more steps towards the inevitable showdown with Chuck.
The episode begins with a fairly typical teaser. Two girls leave a bar – B’s Sugar – late at night. Sally (Georgia Bradner) is so drunk that she has to run off and throw up in the bushes. Sober, more mature friend Angela (Madelyn Grace) waits in the car – and we see her being attacked. When Sally finally turns around Angela and the car are gone – raptured, according to Sally.
Sally wakes up in a basement, tied to a chair. A line runs from her arm into a caged room where a monster feeds on her blood.
Dean (Jensen Ackles) is hanging out in his room, drinking beer and scrolling through his phone, looking for a hunt. When he goes into the kitchen, Sam and Eileen are hungover and cooking a huge breakfast. I love Shoshannah Stern. DO NOT KILL HER! I loved the looks she gives Dean when he asks if it’s real bacon! But Dean doesn’t want even real bacon – and he wants to give Sam and Eileen space. Dean clearly knows what’s going on – even if Sam still seems a bit stunned!
Eileen asks if Dean’s ok after Sam lets him leave. Sam has learned more sign language and tells Eileen that Dean had been really down, but Dean’s leaving seems like progress. At least he isn’t locked in his bedroom eating cereal or drinking beer!
Dean makes it to Texoma and interviews Sheriff Dillon (Emy Aneke) – is that a play on Matt Dillon from Gunsmoke? Dean introduces himself as Agent Dukes – which has to be a play on the
Dukes of Hazzard, particularly as it’s a
Dukes of Hazzard song that he and Kane sing later in the episode. The Sheriff is convinced that Angela has just taken off to Los Angeles. It turns out that the Sheriff also ran off to LA and stayed a month once. The Sheriff does point Dean in the direction of Swayze’s bar where Angela hangs out “pretty much 24-7.” Before Dean goes, the Sheriff tells him that he could likely catch up with Angela in LA – and Dean “has the look” – to make it as a star! Hilarious!
Dean shows up at Swayze’s and it’s clearly a shout out to Patrick Swayze and the Swayze movie
Road House. Dean even cites “road house rules.” And that’s also what Lee is singing when Dean walks in. Dean is met at the door by Lorna (Aliya O’Brien) who tells him to hand it over. He thinks she means his gun – but this is Texas! He can keep that – she wants his cell phone. And that’s actually a pretty good idea… she then proceeds to flirt with him – and it was fun to see a bit of the old Dean.
It was a bit of fun when Dean and Lee first set eyes on each other and it looks like they might fight… until they smile and are clearly delighted to see each other. Lee asks if Dean is still hunting, and then tells him that he owns the bar – and that’s a nice parallel to Dean’s dream of owning a bar someday – or at least that’s what he was doing when Michael had him trapped in his own head.
Back at the bunker, Sam and Eileen are deep in research. Jeez Sam!!!! Eileen finally says she needs a break and suggests that they do something fun. She tells him she has a few ideas – and Sam finally starts to make a move… when Cas walks in. Perfect timing as always!
I loved Eileen telling Cas that she “got better” from being dead! I love her! Stern is terrific, fitting seamlessly into the rhythm of the show and handling the comedy and drama with equal aplomb. Sam fills Cas in that Lillith is back. Cas tells them they’ve been looking in the wrong places – and that Angel radio has been silent for months. He then asks about Sam’s wound. Sam says it’s still not healed. Cas says that when he fired the Equalizer, it fired a piece of his soul, so there may be a part of Sam inside Chuck! Eileen had the best reaction – EW!
Dean and Lee catch up, and Dean tells him that John died. Dean also tells Lee that John really liked Lee and said he was the best he’d ever seen in a fight. They haven’t seen each other since Sam was in College. Lee reminds him of the “cult-thing” they did in Arizona. Both look somber thinking about it. Lee tells Dean that he did one more case “right around here” after that and then quit. And that was our first clue… Guess what the case was… Dean asks Lee if he ever regretted walking away, and Lee tells him not once. Dean looks thoughtful. Is he really thinking of just walking away?
Back at the bunker, Cas has a plan – and that never ends well. Cas tells him that he can’t heal him, but he can probe the wound and perhaps learn something about Chuck. Eileen wants to know if it’s dangerous, and Cas admits probably, but Sam’s game to try. Cas says it’s going to sting and it flings him against the wall, leaving him unconscious!
Cas tries to call Dean for help, but of course, Dean’s phone is in the basket at the bar. Dean, Lorna, and Lee are having a great time. Cas then calls Sergei (Dimitri Vantis). He doesn’t want to help, telling Cas he’s supposed to spend the weekend with his niece who just got a Rhodes scholarship. Cas tells him that if he doesn’t help, Cas will find him and burn him alive – and then Cas hangs up on him! I loved that Cas immediately put his contingency plan/leverage into motion immediately. He has learned!
Lee finally asks about the case, and Dean shows him Angela’s picture. He says he doesn’t know her, but Lorna is right there saying of course he does – Angela’s in there all the time. Lee then acts like he remembers… on yeah… girl who doesn’t drink much – but her friend…. And I knew right then that Lee was the monster – or rather was keeping it. Lee scoffs at the case, saying that he thought Dean would be on to bigger things by then. It’s almost as if he’s trying to shame Dean into quitting. Dean tells him that bigger isn’t necessarily better. He also goes on to say that it’s been a rough decade – and so it has since Kripke left…
Lee also tries to convince Dean that he could have what Lee has. But would Dean ever leave the hunt to someone else. Lee is ready for another song – and picks one that John used to play before hunts. We get a terrific set of Ackles and Kane – backed up by the Impalas – the show band made up of members of the crew. It’s also a nice way to showcase the fact that Ackles just released his first album.
The song no sooner finishes than the road house rules come into play as Dean and Lee go to Sally’s rescue when she is being harassed. Dean and Lee throw the offenders out. And Dean realizes that the girl is the one he’s been looking for. Angela tells them what happened and Lee offers to work the case with him. Dean wonders where to hide a car around there. Lee says the lake – and Lorna says the scrapyard. Dean picks the scrapyard and finds the car – and Angela dead in the trunk – just before Lee coldcocks him and knocks him out.
Sergei shows up at the bunker, and it’s immediately apparent that he shouldn’t be allowed to roam around. He’s practically drooling at all the “wonderful things” that must be contained within it. Besides which, he now knows where it is at the very least. Sergei uses a magic crystal and tells them that Sam is dying. Sergei explains that they’ve stretched Sam’s soul to the breaking point, but he also tells them that he can fix it.
Sergei mixes up a disgusting paste and puts it on Sam’s wound – but it makes him worse instead of better. Eileen tries to wipe it off, but it’s too late. Sam meanwhile is having visions of Chuck (Rob Benedict) with Amara (Emily Swallow). It’s Sergei’s plan to blackmail them. I loved Eileen taking him by the throat and telling him she’s going to kill him! Sergei wants the key to Death – the key that opens the door to Death’s library. But Cas doesn’t have to deal. Bobby has been watching Sergei’s niece, and Cas has a picture of her on his phone – Sergei fixes Sam or Bobby “fixes” the niece.
Sergei fixes Sam, and as Sergei leaves, he tells Cas that he likes the new Cas… It’s very Russian. And that’s a fun in joke on Misha’s mother’s obsession with Russia… long story. I like the new Cas too! It was great to see him actually not trusting and staying one step ahead of the bad guys.
Dean comes to tied up in the basement about to be drained. Lee comes down and tells him that after their last hunt together in Arizona, he just couldn’t get past what they saw. On his last hunt, he captured the creature in the cage – a marid. “It’s a freaky-looking thing” but “as long as you feed it, it gives you money, it gives you health, everything you dreamed of.” Dean is disgusted – “it just costs innocent lives?” Lee wants to know if after everything, aren’t they owed something? Lee insists that no one cares about whether they are good or bad. Dean insists that he cares, and Lee points out that that’s what got him there. Lee tells him not to worry as he opens up the port to drain his blood. After a couple of pints, he’ll just go to sleep.
But Dean’s no shrinking violet and he topples his chair. Once he pulls the blood away from the marid, it gets frantic and starts to break out of the cage. The race is on to see who gets free first!
Lee hears noises from the basement as he works in the bar. He’s got his gun up and ready to fire as the door opens… and the marid’s head comes rolling out. Dean apologizes for Lee’s friend – and then dives behind the bar as Lee starts shooting. Dean uses the famous Texas slogan – “God Bless Texas” as he finds a shotgun under the bar. It’s also a nice shout out to the fact that Ackles was born in Texas and now lives there again. Lee and Dean run out of ammunition at the same time.
Dean tells Lee that he doesn’t get to continue to pretend that they’re still friends – he doesn’t know him anymore. Lee insists that he IS Dean. Just a Dean who woke up and realized that the world was broken. Dean insists that you fix it; you don’t walk away. You fight for it. Kane and Ackles were both terrific in this scene. Lee tries to get Dean to forget it happened – he could just walk out the door. Dean tells him that he doesn’t want to do it – but he kills monsters. Clearly, identifying Lee as a monster. The two fight – and it’s spectacular. I’m betting the two had an absolute blast filming this – probably as much as the singing scene!
Dean finally stabs Lee with a cue stick. Lee asks him why he cares so much, and Dean tells him because someone has too. Lee tells him that he’s glad it was him. Dean takes out the cue, and Lee dies. It’s a tough moment.
Dean arrives back at the bunker and there’s a very awkward reunion with Cas. Sam tells the others that he thinks that he was in Chuck’s head. He’s weak. Sam thinks that they can beat God!
So, once again, Dean sees how the other half lives and has it reinforced that he is a hunter through and through. He’ll never be happy walking away. Sam has an important experience that lets him see that Chuck is weak and gives them hope moving ahead that they can win. We also get to see several sides of Eileen, including her hunter side! We also get to see a new side to Cas. I’m glad that they are finally letting him grow up. I’ve very much enjoyed Collins in the last two episodes as Cas finally gets to act intelligently. What did you think of the episode? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
