Mommy Dearest

So Mommy Dearest starts with two guys leaving a bar and running into Eve, the Mother of All, in a bloody white dress. One of them says, “Heaven must be missing an angel.” Umm, he’d be a tool just for saying that, but who says that to a woman covered in blood? Eve caresses his cheek and we see black webs crackle across his skin and then disappear.

She then steps into the pub, bars the door and starts contaminating people with her evil touch. Carnage ensues as the infected attack the “untouched.”

Meanwhile, Dean is making a handful of shotgun shells with the Phoenix ash. He’s grows worried about their effectiveness after accidentally discovering the soot has no affect on him. Now that they’re armed, they have to find Eve. The boys have no way of tracking her and she’s hidden from Cass so they decide their best shot is finding something with “claws and sympathy.” Their good monster turns out to be Lenore, the vegetarian vampire from Season 2’s Bloodlust. She confesses she’s been fighting a losing battle against Eve’s siren’s call. In fact, Lenore’s nest turned bad. The boys mange to persuade her to reveal Eve’s location, but she asks that they kill her in return. As Dean and Sam hem and haw excuses, Cass dispatches her without a blink of hesitation and then zaps the boys and Bobby to Grant’s Pass, Oregon. (Angel boy gets less and less angelic.)

“I was expecting more Zombieland, less Pleasantville.” – Dean

They arrive in a small, seemingly sweet town and quickly learn Cass has been rendered powerless, which gives us my two favorite lines of the night, both delivered by Dean. “Mom is making you limp” and “Without your power you’re basically just a baby in a trench coat.”

Bobby does some research on an I-Pad to his consternation and discovers a Dr. Silver called the CDC about an illness he couldn’t identify. At the doc’s office to treat Cass’s “painful, burning sensation” they find the doctor’s gone AWOL and the ill patient is dead and oozey in the nearby shed.

The four musketeers head to the patient’s house to see if they can learn anything more. They see his “twin” at the window. Sam and Dean find five more of the same guy inside the house, all dead! WTF, is this an evil version of Multiplicity? The guy they saw at the window is barely alive. My advice? Stay away from the bleeding, coughing guy. You don’t know if he’s contagious! But noooo, they’ve got to talk to him. The guys figure out Eve’s responsible and poor Marshall croaks. Which just doesn’t make sense. If Eve is making some kind of army why would she make them sick, dying and gooey?

“I’m bathing in Purell tonight.” --Dean

The supernatural squad heads over to the bar where it all began and finds complete carnage inside. Now why wouldn’t the Sherriff know about this? Dean examines one of the bodies and finds it has vamp teeth, but the spike of a wraith. Say what? Eve’s making hybrids. Bobby tells Dean he can name the new species since he discovered it. Dean decides to call them Jefferson Starships. “Because they’re horrible and hard to kill.” A closer look shows the starships burned up, like they died from a fever.

Ah, here comes that stupid sheriff. Of course, he’s there to arrest the boys for the carnage. Fortunately, Dean hides and follows them. At the station Sam see the cops are actually starships. They kill all but one, hoping they can get some answers out of him.

They also find Dr. Silvers’ sons bound and gagged in a cell. Poor Joe and Ryan are orphans and the cute little one won’t talk. Sam and Dean see themselves in these two boys and want to safely deliver them to their uncles. Cass is pissed that they’re leaving. He wants Dean to serve the greater purpose and find Eve.

Bobby tells Cass to get over it and suggests they go poke that pig until he squeals. Bobby does his best to torture a little cooperation out of the guy, but he holds tough. Finally Cass tells him he wants five minutes alone with the guy. Bobby asks what he could possibly do without powers. We never do learn the answer to that but we hear a scream, Cass returns with his hands covered in blood and he’s got the answer they need. This dark, unsympathetic Cass is disturbing and scary. Not only has he lost his humanity, he no longer seems to care about doing what’s right in the religious sense of things.

They all head back to Ervin’s diner, the first place they went when they arrived in town. Sam wonders why she ever let them in or out. Sam and Dean intend to walk into the restaurant to draw her out. If they fail, then Bobby and Cass will still have their ash bullets. Inside, the brothers are scared to learn everyone in the diner is a starship. Just as they’re getting ready to bail the waitress, Eve, tells them to stay put. She then disarms them. Damn, so much for the phoenix bullets.

But it turns out she doesn’t want to hurt them. Even more surprising, she doesn’t want the planet destroyed. She felt she had no choice because the natural order was disturbed. Her children were being kidnapped and tortured and a mother defends her kids. To gives some punch to her message she morphs into their mom. Seems the person she wants dead is Crowley. That’s right, he’s not dead! And he’s the one hurting her babies. He’s using them to collect souls, because they’re like super fuel. He’d be all powerful with all those souls. So she’s turning everyone into her children to fight back. Her “beta tests” failed, but eventually she got it right….in little Ryan. Dirty pool! Now, we know why he didn’t speak. And the bad seed turned his brother, then killed his uncle. Wow! The 2.0 version of her infector was really clever, especially when you consider that they tested the kids.

“Beat me with a wire hanger, the answer is still no.” -- Dean

Eve wants the boys to deliver Crowley to her. In return she’ll let them live. She’ll even let Bobby and Cass, who’ve been hauled into the diner, live. Dean refuses so she threatens to turn them. Still Dean continues to bait her. Um, has he lost his ever-loving mind? He finally tells her to bite him and she does. Aaaah! Wait, she’s coughing. OMG, he fricking drank down the ash with some whiskey. She oozes to death in a most awesome way. The starships start to attack and Cass blazes them with light then heals Dean. Yay-ya!

To Cass’s disgust Dean insists on going to find Ryan. At the uncle’s house they find they’ve been ganked by demons. Cass takes off, telling the boys he’ll find Crowley. As Sam, Bobby and Dean discuss how on Earth Crowley could’ve survived, Bobby wonders if Cass let Crowley go on purpose. Dean is stunned by the accusation, but Sam is obviously following Bobby’s train of thought. I’m afraid they might be right. And, yup, they are. Cass and Crowley meet up at the diner where Crowley asks how many times he’ll have to clean up Cass’ mess. Holy cannoli. What does this mean? I thought at first Cass might be genuinely evil, but the previews show him questioning what he’s doing. That at least leaves me with hope and a whole lotta questions. Overall, great episode. I think we’re on the fast train to the finale now. I don’t expect to see a lot of levity, like last week’s show, but that’s okay as long as they have this kind of balance between humor and dark within the episode. I just ask that they keep the damn wall up in Sammy’s head because I like the brothers relationship as is. What did you think of Mommy Dearest?

Abandon All Hope

ABANDON ALL HOPE opens at a metropolis cross roads where rich Mr. Pendleton eagerly awaits a beautiful demon to kiss so he can seal the deal to get his bank bailed out. Unfortunately, for the extremely homophobic geezer, Crowley has decided to land this big fish himself. The pucker takes place and Pendleton is left disgusted, but debt free. Lurking in the background is Castiel. The celestial spy, code named “Huggy Bear,” has tracked down the demon with the colt. Cas follows him to an impenetrable house and calls in reinforcements.

Later that night a beautiful and distraught woman—it’s Jo Harvelle!—rings the house for help after her car breaks down. The guards let her in and just as they’re ready to pounce, Dean and Sam swoop in.

“The Hardy Boys finally found me.” Crowley

It seems Crowley has been waiting for the Winchesters, but instead of putting up a fight he does the damndest thing…he kills his own guards and hands over the Colt. Er, surely it’s not that easy?

“Take this to Lucifer and empty it into his face.” Crowley

Then again. Seems Crowley believes it’s just a matter of time before Lucifer turns on his own. First the humans, then his minions. If Lucifer is dead, Crowley will survive. The boys reluctantly believe he’s on the up and up and taking their strange luck a step further Sam asks, “You wouldn’t happen to know where the devil is perchance, wouldja.” Crowley tells them he’s got an appointment in Carthage, Missouri.

“I think I’m starting to feel something.” Cas

Ellen is trying her hardest to get Cas drunk, while Jo watches in amazement and Sam and Dean argue about splitting up. Dean doesn’t want Sam to go to Carthage because he fears they’d be handing over the vessel. Sam insists they have to stay together. Dean finally agrees but calls it a stupid freakin’ idea. Then he goes and hits on Jo with a last night on Earth speech. Just as it looks like she’ll capitulate she laughingly denies him, saying she’d rather die with her dignity. (Stupid woman!) Out of nowhere Bobby demands they all take a picture together, but their reckless silliness morphs to an “oh, shit” moment when Cas says, “This is our last night on earth.”

The boys, Ellen, Jo and Cas arrive in Carthage to find an empty town and no cell phone signal. The brothers decide to check out the PD and leave the other three to look around. Cas quickly discovers the town isn’t empty, but completely over run with reapers. He goes off to investigate and finds himself imprisoned in a fire circle by Lucifer.

“You’re not taking Sam Winchester. I won’t let you.” Cas

Satan’s skin is growing thin, his vessel isn’t strong enough to contain him. Cas tells him he’ll never allow him to get to Sam. Lucifer doesn’t understand why Cas won’t side with him, but the angel said he’d die before letting that happen.

Meanwhile Meg has shown up and unleashed a pack of hellhounds on the Scooby gang. Dean pulls a horror movie heroine move and trips. Before he can be devoured Jo fights off the mutt but is disemboweled. The Winchesters and the Harvelles hole up in a store and everyone comes to the realization that Jo is not going to survive her injuries. Contacting Bobby by CB Dean learns that Lucifer is intending to unleash the Angel of Death. The reapers are waiting for their big boss to show up at midnight.

“Can we be realistic about this, please? My guts are being held in by an ace bandage.” Jo

The boys need to get out and use the colt to kill Lucifer. Jo suggests building a bomb, which she’ll trigger, while her mom and the boys escape through the roof. She’s not going to make it anyhow, and if they don’t do something the hellhounds will never stop hunting them. The boys and Ellen are horrified by her suggestion, but come to the sad reality that it’s their only option. They cobble together explosives from propane tanks, lanterns, nails, salt, wire and a doorbell and then fold Jo’s hand around the trigger.

“I’ll see you on the otherside. Probably sooner rather than later.” Dean
“Make it later.” Jo

Dean gives Jo a tender kiss goodbye and then Ellen announces that she’s staying with her daughter. Someone has to open the door and she will not leave her little girl alone. She tells Dean to kick it in the ass. The boys leave and Ellen unchains the door and goes to sit next to her child. She tells Jo, “I will always love you, baby” and then realizes Jo has passed away. Ellen starts to cry and then the doors open. She can hear the scrabbling of invisible dogs coming her way. One arm tight around her daughter she poses her finger over the trigger and waits until she feels a hellhound’s breath on her face.

“You can go straight back to hell you ugly bitch.” Ellen

Kaboom! The Harvelle’s and hellhounds are no more.

The Winchesters find Lucifer shoveling dirt onto something while an audience of townsmen (who are actually demons) watch. The boys forego any last words and tricking Lucifer manage to shoot him in the head. Yesss! Nooooo, he gets back up again. Seems there’s only five things in creation the colt won’t kill and he’s one of them. He knocks Dean out and asks Sam if he’d just give himself up now. Sam says never, but Lucifer says he’s pretty sure he’ll surrender in the next six months in Detroit. Then he reveals that he’s covering a mass grave, women and children first, and he offers their lives, blood and souls, along with some demons to complete his tribute.

While he calls the Angel of Death forth, Cas manages to get the best of Meg and break out of his circle. But it’s too little, too late.

“Oh, hello, death.” Lucifer

That right there would’ve been a helluva cliffhanger for this hiatus, but the show inexplicably ends with the Winchesters back at Bobby’s place where he morosely takes the last keepsake of the Harvelle’s, the pic they all took, and throws it in the fire.

The End.

I have mixed feelings on this episode. Hated the ending. Why burn that picture? And Lucifer’s line gave a stronger, punchier finale. I also didn’t like that the boys, when faced with what they genuinely thought might be their last moments, had no final words for each other. I loved the emotional farewell for the Harvelle girls. It was tender and kick ass at the same time. They were the best part of this episode for me and I think this is just the beginning of the self sacrifice we’re going to see. Loved how Pellegrino played Lucifer as smarmy and petulant, but unyieldingly confident. And I look forward to seeing what happens next. Too bad we have to wait so long. So what did you think? Was it a mixed bag for you too?

Sympathy for the Devil

“Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
But what’s puzzling you
Is the nature of my game”

So goes the lyrics from Rolling Stone’s Sympathy for the Devil. In the Season 5 premiere of SPN we’re introduced to Satan (Mark Pellegrino) himself and the nature of his game is indeed a puzzle, but boy is it gonna be fun figuring it out.

Kripke penned this opener and it started exactly where we left off. Blinding light. Piercing noise. The boys can’t escape and drop to their knees in agony waiting for Lucifer’s arrival and then we see…

…Yosemite Sam. The boys are inexplicably on an airplane with the Looney Tune on TV and a cartoon beezlebub is asking him, “What the devil is your name?”

WTF?

The boys are just as confused as we are. On the ground the radio is delivering apocalyptic news on every channel and Sam keeps trying to apologize, but Dean cuts him off. In need of answers they head for Chuck’s. The prophet is shocked to see them alive seeing as his last vision showed Sammy going “full on Vader.” He tells them Castiel is dead. An arch-angel smoked the crap out of him and he “exploded like a water balloon of chunky soup.” Ew. Even more ew is the tooth the soothsayer finds in his hair.

“Cram it with walnuts, Ugly.” Dean

Then that abhorrent angel Zachariah shows up to get Dean. He tells them they’re all on the same side now and he wants Dean to kill the devil. Furthermore, they need to strike hard and fast before Lucifer finds a vessel. P.O.’d, Dean slaps Zach back on the Highway to Heaven.

Back at their hotel Dean asks Sam how he’s doing with his blood addiction. Surprisingly, whoever yanked their tushes outta trouble seems to have cleansed Sam too--supernatural sobriety. Once again, Sam tries to talk to Dean, but he’s not in the mood to listen. Instead he suggests they do what they always do and go hunting…for the devil.

Meanwhile, in Pike Creek, Delaware, we meet a despondent man named Nick who’s haunted by the loss of his wife, Sarah, and their baby boy. He thinks he’s having hallucinations, but Sarah tells him he’s special, chosen. You know, whenever, if ever, someone tells you that…run!

And, in the funniest part of the episode, we meet Becky, Supernatural super fan and giggly, blushy WinCest writer. In a totally surreal moment she gets a video call from the Carver Edlund. He’s being watched by angels and he wants her to deliver a message to the real Sam and Dean. She shows up on their motel doorstep drooling and giddy where she wastes no time in fondling Sam’s pecs and telling Dean “You’re not what I pictured.” She also tells them Carver’s newest prophecy. Michael’s sword is on Earth. The angels lost it and it’s at a castle on a hill made of 42 dogs. Well, now, that’s clear as mud isn’t it? So who do the Winchesters call when they need some research help? Bobby.

Bobby shows up and explains that Michael booted Lucifer to Earth with that sword and if they can get it they can send him back to Hell. Then Sam does what he’s been trying to do with Dean for days…he confesses his sins. And Bobby, dear, Bobby completely pulverizes him. “You’re damn right you didn’t listen. You were reckless and selfish and arrogant. You’re sorry you started Armageddon. This kind of thing don’t get forgiven, boy. And if by some miracle we pull this off, I want you to lose my number, you understand me?”

Gulp. The devastation on Sam’s face is crushing. He leaves ostensibly to go look for something, but probably to secretly cry, and Dean and Bobby do more research. Bobby is saying he never would’ve guessed their daddy was right about Sam. Save him or kill him. Sadly, Dean never says anything in his brother’s defense, but he does have an epiphany and digs through his dad’s stuff. His storage locker is at Castle Storage on 42 Rover Hill. Bingo! And then bam! Bobby goes all demon on Dean and starts beating him. Meg arrives in a new meat suit. She says Dean is the only bump in the road for the new world order and every demon is out to get him. She tells Bobby to stab him to death. Bobby fights his inner demon and stabs himself instead and Meg smokes out. The boys get their surrogate father to the ER and then try to beat the demons to the storage locker. Zach is waiting for them. He tells them Dean is actually Michael’s sword aka his vessel. That’s right, Zacariah wants Dean to willingly give up his body and mind to Michael.

“Life as an angel condom.” Dean

Dean refuses and Zacariah starts to torture him into saying yes – he breaks Sam’s legs, gives Dean stage 4 stomach cancer, steals Sam’s lungs. Dean tells him to just kill them and Zacariah says he’s just started the torture. Thankfully, a very put together Castiel shows up and kicks some angel ass. He then implies that God put Sam and Dean on that plane and spared his life. To protect the brothers he carves something into their ribs that will hide them from every angel in creation, including Lucifer.

Back in Pike Creek, Nick allows his “wife” to talk him into becoming Lucifer’s vessel so he can get revenge on God for allowing a stranger to butcher his family. Possession takes place.

Oblivious, a feisty Bobby gives his doctor hell when the MD dares to tell him he may not be able to walk again. In the ER the guys discuss what they should do about their little Satanic sitch. Bobby suggests they save as many as they can for as long as they can. Dean suggests they take on both sides and win back their planet.

“What I do have is a GED and a give ‘em hell attitude.” Dean

As the boys head out of the hospital Bobby tells Sam it was the demon talking to him that way not him. “I ain’t cutting you out, boy. Not ever.” Sniff sniff. Now that’s more like the Bobby we know and love.

The jam-packed episode ends in a dark parking lot with Dean finally letting loose. He tells Sam he said all that stuff in there for Bobby’s benefit, but he can’t pretend anymore that everything is alright. He also tells his little brother he can’t believe Sam chose a demon over him. Sammy completely let him down and he’s having a hard time forgiving and forgetting. When Sam asks what he can do to make things better Dean says, “Honestly, nothing. We can never be what we were. I just don’t think I can trust you.”

Gut-wrenching pain. It’s a devastating, but true moment. They might be fighting on the same side to save the world, but chances are their separate hearts will make it that much more difficult and probably weaken their efforts. However, I have every faith the wayward son will make amends and earn his way back into good graces.

Overall, I thought Kripke did a killer job on starting off Season 5. I’ll admit I balked a little at Sammy’s instant sobriety, but I can see that it would be a distraction from the real issues at hand. I’m looking forward to seeing the Harvelles next week and watching more emotional fallout among the brothers. How about you?