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On last week’s episode of Supernatural, Sam & Dean found the last ingredients needed to open a rift, courtesy of a long locked away God from another realm and Ketch’s timely appearance with Gabriel in tow. It ended with Dean determined to enter the rift alone, leaving Sam to care for Gabriel, just in case Dean isn’t back in the 24 hours the rift will remain open. Ketch tagged along, eager to get away from a vengeful Asmodeus.
In this week’s episode, Dean and Ketch Lewis & Clark their way through unfamiliar terrain in search of Mary and Jack. Along the way, they spy a familiar face in the form of Charlie. I know it’s not our Charlie, but I’m so damn happy to see her that I’m totally onboard with Dean’s determination to save her from the angels imprisoning her. Unfortunately, a bounty hunter looking for humans to trade to the angels’ spies Dean and shoots him with a poison-laced bullet.
Ketch and Dean overpower him and find out where the angels took Charlie, but don’t make it very far before Dean collapses. I’m enjoying the frenemy vibe Dean and Ketch share, while Ketch slaps together some kind of paste to slow the progression of the poison. Ketch wants to go home to regroup but Dean refuses. He explains that Charlie was like a sister to him and they couldn’t save her. He had to save her now. Ketch seems moved and agrees to keep moving forward, despite Dean’s weakened state. They manage to penetrate the angel camp and save Charlie like the bad asses they are. Even weakened, Dean is super-hot and tasty. Ketch is cool or whatever. Dean fills Charlie in on alternate world Charlie and their connection. They make it back to the rift, but both Ketch and Charlie are determined to stay behind to find Mary and Jack. Dean leaves them fighting angels and jumps through the rift just before it closes.
Supernatural — “Bring ’em Back Alive” — Image Number: SN1318b_0231bc.jpg — Pictured (L-R): Mark Pellegrino as Lucifer and Danneel Ackles as Jo — Photo: Dean Buscher/The CW — é 2018 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved
Up in Heaven, Lucifer is dealing with an unhappy missus and the angels. They need more manpower and Jo is exasperated at Lucifer’s lack of well, usefulness. Lucifer rocks a sweet ass suit and preps to listen to some prayers but finds them obnoxious and whiny. The most hilarious part of this episode occurs when he pops in on an exorcism and chastises the demon possessing the girl for kicks, while explaining to the priests that his bad rap is courtesy of his pop. They immediately began praying and splashing him with holy water until his annoyance gets the best of him and he vaporizes them.
Back in heaven, he vents to Jo about his dislike of humans. He has a new plan to focus on finding his bliss by finding his son. Jo tells him to stop being a loser and keep his promises to make more angels. He admits he lied and that he can’t do that. Disgusted, Jo drags him for filth and basically tells him he ain’t shit, ain’t never been shit, ain’t ever gonna be shit.
Look, I love a good read as much as the next, but the devil isn’t exactly the target I would pick, you know? And as expected, Lucifer chokes her out. He lets her go before killing her and she storms out and tells him she’s done helping him. She’s sassy and I like it! Danneel Ackles has been serving feisty goodness since One Tree Hill, and I’m loving her role on Supernatural. Let’s hope she survives the season!
Meanwhile, back at the bunker Sam and Castiel are dealing with a traumatized and halfway nuts Gabriel. But he’s not cracked enough to stop from leaving his Enochian story all over the walls of his room, explaining how he escaped death and has been whiling away his time with porn stars until his capture by Asmodeus. Trust Gabriel to fake his death to avoid dealing with his asshat brother, absentee father, and other pesky things like saving humanity. We also learn that once one of the weakest princes of hell, Asmodeus grew powerful shooting himself up with archangel grace.
Sam gives a hell of a speech about how after fighting his place in the family business for so long, he finally realized that this was the life he’d always been meant for, where he made the biggest difference in the world. This is kind of a huge moment, because Sam has always been kind of reticent to admit that this is where he belongs. It seems like he’s finally embracing the life he was meant to lead and the impact it’s had on the world.
It’s enough to spark Gabriel’s inner archangel badassery, but he’s still mentally and emotionally fragile. PTSD like a mother. Unfortunately, this also alerts Asmodeus to his presence, since they’re connected because of Asmodeus’ weird angel grace addiction. Crap. In the bunker, Sam gives Gabriel a vial of his own grace hoping to heal his wounds and his mind, but they’re unsure if it helps. Asmodeus calls and demands Gabriel’s return within 10 minutes or he will destroy the bunker and everyone in it. And sure enough, after 10 minutes pass, the power in the bunker goes out and the glyphs on the walls are blinking and sizzling. Demons show up but Sam and Cas quickly dispatch them. Not so much when Asmodeus shows up. He tosses their ass around and his demons drag Gabriel out. Asmodeus taunts him before turning to torture and kill Sam and Cas.
In a moment of pure effing awesomeness, Gabriel literally shakes off his guards, heals himself, flexes his wings, and challenges Asmodeus. Shocked, Asmodeus exclaims that Gabriel is too weak and that he broke him, but Gabriel smirks. Asmodeus hurls some kinda energy ball looking thing at Gabriel, but he bats it away like it’s nothing. Declaring he’s always hated Asmodeus’s suit (not me; he was serving some serious Colonel Sanders southern finesse), he totally incinerated him. Easy mode. I’m not gonna lie. I screamed. A lot. And not to get too deep, but it was just an amazing moment of a victim of abuse breaking free and taking their power back from their abuser. It was freaking epic. In a sweeping show of total cowardice or lack of effs to give, he completely ruins it by declaring he’s not interested in saving the world from Michael or anyone else and freaking disappears in a flutter of wings. Wow. That was disappointing.
Dean arrived moments later and is thrilled to hear Gabriel is back and killed Asmodeus. That lasts like five seconds before they have to tell him that not only did Gabriel abandon them, but they used the last of his grace to heal him and no longer have the means to open another rift. Dean loses it big time and you can see he’s losing hope. Every time they get close, it falls apart.
I feel for him because he went through hell, seemingly for nothing. Their next mission will be to find Gabriel and convince him to join their fight, or at the very least, give them some grace. He owes them. He was broken and weak and they helped him find his strength. Let’s see if they can convince him this world is worth saving.
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