Weekly SPN News 5/30

Not much going on right now.

It didn't take long—thank goodness!—for the CW to allegedly confirm that both Misha Collins (Castiel) and Jim Beaver (Bobby) will return for season 6. (Source: Zap2it.com and about a hundred websites that quoted them.)

Are you an Android user? I came across this app: Supernatural Quiz. (Disclaimer: Supernatural Sisters has nothing to do with this product and you download at your own risk.)

Review of the tie-in novel The Unholy Cause.

Don't forget to look for Misha in Stonehenge Apocalypse on SyFy June 12!
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Photo Credit: Misha Collins Twitter feed

Supernatural News Week of May 24

Okay, I'm writing this during the LOST recap, so.....

Have you seen Jensen and Daneel's wedding photo in PEOPLE? And here's another story about their honeymoon, spent promoting their shows. Why DID they schedule the wedding now?

Did you hear Supernatural is moving to Fridays? This may be bad bad news, but on the other hand, it won't be against Grey's and CSI.

My personal favorite idea for beginning Season 6 appears to be false. No time jump to start the season.

There's a Supernatural convention going on in Germany. Misha, Jim, Traci and Jason are there. Check out the video here. Also, Misha on the train. How cute is he?

What'd I miss? Anything?

Lingering Questions

So it's the first week of a long summer without any new Supernatural episodes. Thursday night feels...odd. But while I was reading a recent Entertainment Weekly special section on LOST and its upcoming series finale, when they mentioned the lingering questions everyone has about the show it made me start thinking about the same thing for Supernatural. So here are some of my lingering questions:

1. Of course, the first one is what Natalie explored on Wednesday: Who is Sam now? I'm not sure I have a theory yet. I was just so surprised to see him at the end of the episode.

2. Doesn't Crowley still have Bobby's soul? If Crowley's around next season, will he still be on the boys' side or start making trouble for them like demons do?

3. What will Castiel do in heaven if he goes back there? Will we see him? If so, how often? I hate to say it, but I'm not sure the show with just the boys will be as satisfying anymore. I like what these great secondary characters like Castiel, Bobby and Crowley bring to the show and bring out in the brothers.

4. Does the entire road to the apocalypse just start over? Someone said (Was it Zachariah?) that this apocalypse wasn't the first one, that the earth had been wiped clean before. Does that mean we could go back to the type of monster-of-the-week episodes we had in Season 1? I'm not sure we could do that without it maybe feeling like a letdown after the past couple of seasons, but I could totally be wrong.

5. Will we see Papa Winchester again?

6. Do we ever get a definitive answer about whether Chuck is God? I'm not sure I like the whole portrayal of God as a figure who sits back and just gets his amusement from moving humans, demons and angels around like cheese pieces. Plus, I really wanted Chuck to just be the goofball Prophet Chuck.

5. Are the spoilers right? Or are they just messing with us? The text is hidden on the rest of this item so those avoiding spoilers can continue to do so. I saw a spoiler that says next season starts several years in the future, with Dean living that apple pie life but perhaps being dissatisfied with it. If Sam is really Sam, is he living that kind of life too? What could they possibly be doing? Is Dean a car mechanic? Working at Bobby's junkyard? Is Sam an attorney? Do they have kids? Wives? And just how far into the first episode of the season is something light-flickeringly weird going to happen to launch them back into the hunting life? How will they feel about that? Resigned? Restored? Useful again?

What are your theories and thoughts about the above questions. What are your lingering questions about the series?

Who is Sam?

I'm so lucky to have the first essay spot after the finale, but I had so many potential topics! I decided to land on the biggest one: when Sam appeared in the final seconds of "Swan Song," who was he? We've talked a little about the possibilities in the comments, but I think the theories deserve more exploration.

1. He's Sam

God restored Castiel to his full power and position, which enabled him to heal Dean instantly, and bring Bobby back to life. Seems logical he'd pull Sam from the cage, too, free of Lucifer. A case can be made that the (very subtle) look on Sam's face was satisfaction that Dean was following his promise, mingled with longing and loneliness.

The streetlight going out? That could have been from the energy that moved Sam to that location, though the timing doesn't really work. It could have been "coincidence" (i.e. the writers/director messing with us). It could have been that Sam is changed from the dual effects of hosting/battling Lucifer and drinking those gallons of...um...go juice.

This is my favorite theory, the one that kind of seems to be favored by most people, and the one that best fits the "apocalypse is over" mindset Kripke and Co. have described. But it's far from the only possible theory, and the fact that it's the most obvious might make it less likely.

2. Sam is Still Lucifer

That is the second most obvious theory, and the only other one mentioned by many recaps/articles/blogs. The idea being, I suppose, that they didn't do the cage right, or that Lucifer got out, or tricked them.

I did see one person postulate quite logically that Lucifer told Gabriel he taught him all his tricks, which would indicate he could create an avatar of himself.

Despite the solid logic, this theory bothers me. It seems too contradictory. All season, Lucifer has been out there. Not hiding, not avoiding anyone, only seeking Sam, seeking the fight with Michael, wreaking havoc and being quite happy to take credit. He exerted power over the four horsemen, two of whom, at least, resented it mightily. So why would he pretend that Sam took over the body? Why would he risk opening the cage, even believing his enemies to be vanquished? He messed with Dean when Sam first let him in, but he immediately copped to it. I can't believe he'd be able to resist lording it over Dean (because he was all that was left) that he'd not only avoided falling victim to their plan, he'd dropped his brother in the cage, instead.

Since God immediately acted to set a few things right, too, I can't believe he'd have done so knowing Lucifer was still free. He'd have to have known—he's omniscient!

The concept did give me another idea. But I'll save that for #4.

3. Sam is Michael

Not many people are talking about this possibility. The cage was built for Lucifer, by Michael, so it makes sense to me that it might not have been able to hold Michael. He probably wouldn't care about Adam and Sam, but he'd need to ride one of them to return to Earth, if he had a desire for revenge or a need to get the key back, either so he had control of it, or to release Lucifer again to fulfill his destiny. He seemed pretty obsessed with that. Either Adam or Sam would work as vessels, and Sam would be the stronger of the two.

I like this idea because it's a surprise, but I don't really buy it any more than I buy #2, because Sam being possessed by either Lucifer or Michael would require a long-term plot to do it justice, and the fans wouldn't be happy with that. We want SAM, not Sam-the-Meatsuit. Plus, there's a definite sense of been-there-done-that far beyond the sense that "Swan Song" haters complained of in the finale.

4. Sam is ?

So my idea that stemmed from the trickery theory in #2 doesn't really support Sam being any particular being, or lend itself to concrete speculation.

Back in "I Believe the Children Are Our Future," I envisioned a finale in which all allies of Sam and Dean combined forces to defeat Lucifer, including Jesse, the non-evil Antichrist. Even when the season evolved away from that possibility, I still expected this all-powerful little boy to show up and do something. It's unsettling that he didn't.

So what if he did, but we didn't see it? What if he had something to do with some of the events of the finale? What if it wasn't God who restored Castiel? I mean, Cas said Jesse could wipe out the entire angel population with a thought. Seems like the opposite might be just as easy. Okay, I know destruction is easier than creation. And bringing people back to life is harder than turning them into action figures...well, no, maybe it isn't. Jesse did some pretty powerful stuff. Like teleporting himself to Australia. See? Entirely plausible. :)

Your turn!

Go to my Who is Sam poll!

Argue/discuss the details in the comments!


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SPOILER ZONE

A Brazilian magazine interviewed Jensen Ackles, and asked one question about season six. His answer, a translation of which you can read here, seems to be more supportive of Theory #1, above.

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Photo: Jack Rowand/The CW ©2010 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

the Late News with Tanya Michaels

Spent weekend out of town with Trish and within the first five minutes of finding each other at the hotel, we were discussing the finale :-) But it's a new week and of course the big SPN cast/crew news for discussion is the influx of reports that Jensen got married! Which means both of the boys are officially taken. (So...is Misha single?)

Speaking of Misha, he does seem to have an Apocalypse theme going on, doesn't he? Somehow I missed previous reports of this SyFy production (the little green sidebar). Potential Misha fix while we're all waiting for the show to come back!

There is speculation about whether Misha and Jim (Beaver) will be back for Season 6, but most reports are positive that they will return for at least a couple of episodes.

And, while on the subject of recurring SPN characters, I was thrilled to learn last week that Mark Sheppard is coming to the 2010 DragonCon! Now, if only we could get Richard Speight Jr...

Swan Song

The culmination of five years opens in an unexpected place. Chuck is starting a new story. Turn outs GM celebrated the 100 millionth vehicle rolling off the line on April 21, 1967. The blue two-door Caprice was celebrated with a lot of fanfare, but three days later the Chevy Impala left the line and became the “most important object in pretty much the whole universe.” It was first owned by Sal Moriarty, an alcoholic who gave away bibles to the poor so they could “get right for judgment day.” Then it ended up at Rainbow Motors where a young marine bought the car after getting some friendly encouragement from his future son. I’m not entirely sure where Chuck is going with this, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to like it….

“If anybody can do it, it’s you.” Dean to Sam

Things move fast from here. The boys are drinking a beer in Bobby’s junkyard and Dean tells Sam he’s down with the whole devil plan. He asks his overgrown brother if he’s sure he wants to jump in the cage and Sam said he let Lucifer out, so he has to put him back in. From there they gank two demons and drain them of blood so Sammy can have all the “go juice” he wants. Bobby shows Dean some possible apocalyptic headlines and Dean decides the devil’s in Detroit. He always said he’d jump Sam there. On the drive there, with a very human Cass snoring in the back seat, Sam makes Dean promise he won’t try to get him from Hell, it could create more problems. Instead he wants Dean to promise he’ll return to Lisa and lead a normal apple pie life.

“See you around, Kid.” Bobby to Sam

They arrive in Detroit and dozens of demons are milling around. It’s time! Bobby tells Sam to fight tooth and nail. Not to give an inch. They hug and Sam is barely holding it together. Then he tells Cass to take care of everyone, but in Cass’s brutally honest fashion, he says he can’t. Sam implies he should’ve lied and Cass tries hilariously to carry it off, but it’s so not working. Sam opens the trunk and asks Dean not to watch as he downs the blood. The absolute helplessness and horror Dean feels about this situation is written all over his face. Sam loudly announces their arrival and the brothers are dragged before a peeling, putrid Lucifer.

“It’s the blemishes that make her beautiful.” Chuck

Chuck continues his narrative about the Impala. He explains how the car is similar to others, but points out the important parts that make it different—the army man Sam crammed in the ashtray and is still stuck there, the Legos that clink around in the heating vents, the place where they carved their initials with knives. Fortunately for them, the devil doesn’t know or care what kind of car the boys drive.

“Chock full of Ovaltine, are we?” Lucifer to Sam

Sam obliterates Lucifer’s henchman without a blink of effort and then explains he wants to say yes. Lucifer can ride him as long as Sam and Dean live and Lucifer brings back their parents. Now comes the really, really bad part. Lucifer knows about their ace in the hole. He knows about the rings. Panic leeches into Dean’s eyes, but Sam tries to deny their plan.

“A fiddle of gold against your soul, says I’m better than you.” Lucifer to Sam

The devil insists he’s not mad. He’ll go one round in Sam’s noggin. If Sam can overpower him he can jump in the hole. If he wins, well, he wins. Dean is terrified, but Sam says they have no choice. He accepts the challenge. Bright light burns. Both of them collapse. Dean activates the rings. A gate to Hell opens. Sam gets up and Dean tries to get him to jump in. Then you see the exact instant when the devil wins and Sam is gone. Lucifer closes the portal and disappears. The utter devastation on Dean’s face is heartbreaking.

“Such anger, young Skywalker.” Lucifer to Sam.

The devil beams into a room with a circle of people. He snaps and crackles in his new body, says he can feel Sam scratching away. Facing a mirror he allows Sam to have his say. Sam vows to destroy him from the inside out, but the devil tells him to quit fighting the inevitable. They are two halves of a whole. He’s his true family. Sam always felt out of place. When he ran away he wasn’t running from John and Dean, but rather toward Lucifer. Then the devil shows Sam the people in the room – his old grade school teacher, a childhood friend, his prom date—they were all plants in his life, Azaziel’s gang jerking him around like a dog on a chain. He then says he knows how much Sam hates that and they should blow off some steam. He kills them all with Sam's hands.

“I suggest we imbibe copious quantities of alcohol and just wait for the inevitable blast wave.” Cass

Earthquakes are hitting the entire world. Dean asks Cass and Bobby what they should do next, but they’ve both given up.

Chuck is writing an affectionate scene about the boys lives on the road. The freedom and beauty they found in an otherwise unconventional life. Their home was with each other. Then the phone rings. “Mistress Magda.” Uh, nope. It’s Dean and he gives him a hard time for the whole virgin/hooker thing he’s got going on. Then he asks if he knows when the big fight is going down. Tomorrow. High noon. Stull Cemetery outside of Lawrence. It all has to end where it started.

“You’re going to do something stupid. You got that look.” Bobby to Dean

Bobby and Cass try to talk Dean out of going after Sam. He says he’s got nothing to lose. Cass assures him the only thing he’ll see is Michael killing his brother. Dean says then he won’t let him die alone. Sniff sniff.

“We’re brothers. Let’s just walk off the chessboard?" Lucifer to Michael

The brothers greet each other on the battle field. Lucifer tries to talk Michael out of fighting to the death. He blames their father for everything, but Michael refuses. Then there’s double talk that could’ve just as easily been between Sam and Dean about John. Just as they’re ready to rumble we hear the sexy purr of the Metallicar and see an even sexier “do or die” look on Dean’s face as he shoves a cassette in. Gunter glieben glauchen globen. Def Leppard says it’s better to burn out than fade away.

“Dean, even for you this is a whole new mountain of stupid.” Lucifer

Dean isn’t exactly warmly greeted. He wants five minutes to talk to Sam and he attempts to apologize to Adam, but Michael is pissed by the interruption. Then in the funniest line ever Cass shows up and yells, “Hey, assbutt,” before throwing a holy fire molotov cocktail that burns up Michael. Uh oh! Lucifer is crazy mad. He freakin’ snaps his fingers and blows Cass into bloody chunks that spatter Bobby. Nooooo! Dean tries to reach Sam and Lucifer turns on him. He throws Dean into the Impala’s window and Bobby starts shooting at the devil. He gives Dean a “guess this is it” look just as Lucifer snaps his fingers and snaps Bobby’s neck. Nooooo!!!!! Then Lucifer beats the ever lovin’ bloody hell out of Dean’s gorgeous face. We’re talking a swollen, pulpy, lumpy mess and still Dean assures his little brother, whose got to be in there somewhere, that he’s here and won’t leave him. Sob. Just as Lucifer draws his fist back for the death blow, sunlight glints off the Impala, Sammy sees the army man in the ashtray, memories of their life and love flash through him at lightning speed and— Hallelujah—Sam gains control of the devil.

“It’s okay, Dean. It’s going to be okay. I’ve got him.” Sam

He throws the horsemen’s rings to the ground and opens the gate. Fear and horror wash over Sam’s face and then he shores up his courage to take the plunge. Michael shows up and says it can’t end this way. He has to fight his brother. In a beautiful moment of release Sam gives himself up to the fall. Michael tries to yank him from the edge, but Sam pulls him in with him. The ground closes up. A new and improved Cass shows up to heal Dean and raise Bobby from dead.

“Any chap-assed monkey with a keyboard can poop out a beginning.” Chuck

Chuck ruminates about the difficulty of endings. It’s impossible to tie up every loose end, please every fan, make it all add up to something.

Cass intends to return to Heaven and become the new sheriff in town. Dean swears he’s going after God next. He wants to know where his grand prize is, his brother. Cass said he got what he asked for…no paradise, no hell, just more of the same. What would he rather have, peace or freedom?

According to Chuck, Dean and Bobby say goodbye and won’t see each other for a long time. Bobby goes back to hunting, but Dean didn’t want Cass to save him. He wants to die or find a way to bring Sam back, but he decides to keep his promise. He shows up on Lisa’s doorstop asking for that long ago offer of a beer. She says it’s never too late and then holds him while he cries.

“No doubt, endings are hard. Then again, nothing ever really ends. Does it?” Chuck (or God?)

Chuck disappears after writing THE END and we see Dean eating dinner with Lisa and her son. The streetlight outside burns out and--surprise--Sam is watching. That's all folks....

Last night’s finale left me stunned. I’m just so glad Bobby and Cass lived and that wasn’t THE END. Had that been the series ender I would've been crushed. I love how the Impala became a character in the episode and saved the boys, saved the world. The acting by everyone in this episode was beyond amazing. (I want to see awards!) I’m still picking up bits and pieces of my heart today. Now I’m just dying to know what’s next. What did you think? And any predictions for next season?

Supernatural: Heart of the Dragon

I did my best to finish reading this so I could review it today, but only got halfway through. Enough, though, that I can give you a decent review.

The Heart of the Dragon was a ronin, a Samurai warrior, an honorable man. He's called to make a judgement in 1859 Japan (I think, the book's in the other room). He's betrayed by a demon and decried by the village. He's burned at the stake by a demon who watches him burns, and waits for an opportunity to use this noble spirit for ignoble means.

Flash forward to 2009 where the Winchesters have just figured out the Trickster is Gabriel, and are looking at omens. Something is killing people in San Francisco, slicing them to ribbons and burning them to a crisp. As they research, they discover this spirit has appeared every 20 years, and that in 1969, their mother and grandparents fought it.

The story flashes back to 1969 and 15-year-old Mary Winchester and her parents learn, like the Winchesters, that a spirit is killing people in San Francisco. They travel there, and we get to know Samuel and his protectiveness of his daughter when it comes to boys, his trust in her when it comes to her fighting skills. I enjoyed reading about his very real partnership with his wife. I could absolutely picture Mitch Pileggi as I read it.

The Campbells manage to vanquish the ghost for 20 years, when John Winchester hears about it and goes to hunt it. That's as far as I've gotten. I'm halfway through the book and there haven't been many Sam and Dean scenes, but I really liked getting to know the Campbells. I'm looking forward to reading more about John.

I was wondering how the author, Keith R. A. DeCandido, could write the book so quickly, since the 2009 parts take place after "Changing Channels." I guess the reason is that the bulk of the book is in others' point of view.

I wasn't too intrigued by the mythology, but that's just my taste. Have you read it? Did you like it?

"Two Minutes to Midnight" Episode Review

I have to admit, as awesome as the last few episodes have been, I've felt a little bit of lack with Sam and Dean's passiveness in the events occurring around them. Crowley, Gabriel, Kali, even Zachariah knocked every scene out of the park, as Sam and Dean hovered, looking a bit helpless. I was so hoping that would change in this, the penultimate episode of the ultimate season.

Before I begin...I spent much commercial time looking for "O Death" as sung by Jen Titus for the promo and then for tonight's actual episode. No deal. Because, it turns out for those of you who don't already know, Jen Titus is a/the CW on-air promotions exec and her boss, a VP, had her record a tweaked version of the song (lyrics adjusted to match the show). This article says they decided to make the song available as a free download on the CW website. It's either no longer there or not there yet.

So okay, the episode! And here we go! (Recap/commentary typed on second viewing)

Loooong "Then" to start this episode, to make sure we're all caught up. Adam vessel Michael, Cas self-banished, Croatoan virus, Brady, Death free, Crowley's and Sam's plans. Okay, got it.

We start in Davenport, Iowa, with Pestilence looking much nicer than he did in his intro. His patient seems to love him, until he reveals his blend of common cold, Dengai fever, and Japanese encephalitis, to which he adds chicken pox. Ugh, this guy likes his work too much. Aaaaannnnnnndddd there's this episode's Ick, green vomit. OMG that's disgusting.

Cue awesome title card.

One Day Earlier...

Sam and Dean are arguing at Bobby's about Sam's stupid plan to say yes to Lucifer, but they all seem to agree it's a stupid plan, anyway.

Then Cas calls! Yay, Cas! Misha got out of the trench coat! And looks adorable in a hospital gown. He woke from brain-deadness. He's uncomfortable, can't zap, says he's thirsty, his head aches, and he has a bug bite that itches no matter how much he scratches it. What a great summary of the human condition. LOL

Cas apologizes to Dean: "You are not the burnt and broken shell of a man that I believed you to be."

Though Cas seems to have gotten the hang of the telephone, he has not mastered the polite goodbye.

I guess those newspapers on Bobby's desk/lap were exposition avoidance and the reason Sam and Dean now know where Pestilence is holed up. They go to the convalescent home from scene one, knock out a security guard (Dean's Nana is Eunice Kennedy! I knew it! Um...), and hang out looking at the security cameras. Sam's position doesn't change, Dean is sleepy and restless, and he walloped that security guard but good, because he's...still unconscious? And the home apparently has no other security.

Eventually, Pestilence comes on screen and reveals himself with his electromagnetic brain. Or something. Sam and Dean track him...oohhhhhh, please, don't show the vomit again! Okay, phew. A demon nurse senses the boys and alerts Pestilence, saying they should go. They have a track record. But Pestilence wants to take it out on their hides. He doesn't seem to care about Lucifer's orders. "Satan wants 'em so bad he can GLUE THEM BACK TOGETHER!" But ewwwww, vomit hug.

More gratuitous vomit, Sam and Dean grow increasingly sicker as they approach, and they collapse right at Pestilence's door. This scene is more of what I talked about when I started this writeup—Sam and Dean writhe and moan with scarlet fever, meningitis, and syphilis (so mean!) while Pestilence holds court about the beauty of disease. Dean does reach for the knife and gets his hand stepped on for his trouble. Matt Frewer gets his required home run (I love this guy) as he quotes The Princess Bride and Cas bursts in and immediately gets sick.

Pestilence: "How'd you get here?"
Castiel: "I took a bus."

Pestilence taunts Cas about his humanity, but there's "maybe just a speck" of angel left in him. He launches himself at Pest, slices off his ring finger, and ganks the demon. But Pest says it's too late. Uh oh, Croatoan.

Back at Bobby's, no one is celebrating the acquisition of the ring. They ask for good news. Bobby says Chicago is about to be eliminated. Cas gets another great line, made great more by Misha's delivery than the actual words: "I don't understand your definition of good news." But Bobby knows Death will be there. Hopefully they can stop him and get his ring.

Sam asks how Bobby put it all together, he says he had help, and enter Crowley and the funniest exchange of the show. Bobby made the deal to get Death's location. His Scotch apparently isn't up to Crowley's standards. (I love Crowley!) Sam usurps Dean's usual role and asks if Bobby kissed him. Bobby says "No" too vehemently for Sam's finely hone suspicions, but Crowley proves him a liar with a photo on his phone.

Bobby: "Why'd you take a picture?!"
Crowley" "Why'd you have to use tongue?"

Bwahahahaha!

Crowley is holding Bobby's soul as insurance against the boys killing him, though he says he will return it when everything is over. Bobby looks pissed, but come on, Bobby, you can't really be surprised.

Sam: *disgruntled look*
Dean: "Let me guess, we're about to have a talk."

Sam says he's the least of any of them, which is SO not true. But he gives his little speech, and Crowley does the "Aaaaanddd...scene" line and hands over a newspaper story that explains why Pest says it's too late. I sigh a little over the boys' dumbness, which I suspect is network-suit-note inspired. They don't think the viewers are smart enough to figure it out, so they make Sam and Dean dense so Crowley can explain it to us. *sigh*

Anyway, the point is that the virus shall be released nationwide simultaneously. I'm not sure why the apocalypse is only occurring in the U.S., but we can rationalize that because that's where the vessels are.

Somewhere in here is the bit with Death walking down the street, brushing a guy's life off his coat, with "O Death" playing over it. Still awesome.

Cas and Bobby are packing up. Cas gets morose and pensive. He's feeling useless, about to whine, but Bobby has no patience for that. "Quit pining for the varsity years," he tells him.

Apparently, they've decided to split up. Sam, Bobby, and Cas will go try to stop the zombie apocalypse while Dean goes to hunt Death.

Sam: "Remember when we used to just hunt wendigos?"
Dean: "Not really."
Me: "I'll loan you my season 1 DVDs"

Crowley shows up with Death's scythe, says it kills everything—demons, angels, reapers, even, rumor has it, Death himself.

And we have more denseness as Crowley implies, and hints, and finally practically says straight out, that he gave Bobby his legs back. But the look on Bobby's face when he realizes what he's saying is priceless.

Cas is in favor of Sam's plan—the boys consistently exceed his expectations—but tells him Michael has a vessel. Adam. Plus, to keep the vessel strong enough, Sam has to drink tons of blood to keep himself from exploding. Bobby still feels this is the worst plan he's ever heard.

The plan is to plant C4, pull the fire alarm, and blow up the warehouse housing the C4, but a truck starts to leave and they have to move in, which alerts the demons. Um...won't blowing up the virus make it airborne? Oh, wait, it has to be transferred by blood.

The demons sense the Winchesters (I guess they all have Sam-and-Dean-dar now) and launch their own plan, infecting some of the humans with new and improved red-eye Croatoan. That's great, now they can always tell who's infected! It takes effect faster, too. So Sam saves bunches of people and Bobby helps, then Cas saves Sam and finds a new appreciation for sawed-off shotguns. Well, they are effective at point blank range, I guess.

Bobby has a moment, peering at Sam like he's never seen him in action before. Okay, maybe he hasn't, really. I'll give him a pass. A little one. (More later.)

In the meantime, Dean and Crowley do a kind of pointless "Death's here no he's not wait he's over here" thing, and Dean goes in to a pizza joint full of dead bodies...and one live one. The storm slowly moves in, wind and rain and lightning. Death retrieves his scythe, invites Dean to sit, and offers him pizza while he slurps his soda, tells Dean he's totally inconsequential, and shares some interesting tidbits about himself. He's as old as God, maybe older, neither one remembers anymore, and he's going to reap God someday.

But Lucifer has him on a leash, some kind of binding spell, so he has to do Lucifer's bidding, and while he doesn't care about the people being killed, he's really pissed about the leash around his neck, about being enslaved to a bratty child having a tantrum. Which explains why his "attack" back at Bobby's in "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" was so small. He was just trying to get himself tracked. Dean is appropriately terrified beyond anything I've ever seen, until Death offers his ring. Dean can't unbind him, but he can take the bullets out of Lucifer's gun.

Dean: "What about Chicago?"
Death: "I suppose it can stay. I like the pizza."

Death's condition: Dean has to let Sam stop Lucifer. Sam's the only one who can, and his plan is the only way. Dean promises and takes the ring. Death offers the instruction manual and the storm stops. I like this. So much better to have a real plan and some hope of achieving it than just winging it to the end!

So now Dean has all four rings, and they like each other. Bobby shows up—he walked up and down stairs all night for no damn reason. It's so nice to see him happy! Even though the world's dying bloody.

Dean tells Bobby he lied to Death's face, but Bobby has come around. He says he and Dean have always been hard on Sam, and he knows there's darkness in him, but there's lots of good, too. Well, duh. Frankly, I've never bought into the "Sam's a mass of character defects" garbage. I never saw darkness, just hope and good. It's either ineffective writing, or very complex writing. Way back in "Bloodlust" in season 2, Dean started to question his entire existence. Believed he'd been killing some things that didn't deserve it. Sam has been the most important thing in his world since he was 4, but he feels betrayed by Sam. And Sam is an addict, which always adds to trust issues. But I think Sam's "darkness" is more about Dean than it is about Sam. And a lot of the way Bobby sees Sam is through Dean's filter.

So, either the writers really mean Sam to be dark and it's just not working (for me, anyway), or they mean it closer to how I interpret it, and what is said is not the whole story. Of course, I prefer to believe the latter. :)

Bobby says Sam will beat the devil or die trying, and of course that's Dean's fear. Bobby knows it, too, asking Dean if he's afraid of losing, or losing his brother. Which brings us right back to the beginning in a nicely done circle.

The preview for next week was short, giving us a horribly damaged Dean at possessed!Sam's hands, and Sam facing himself and his demon/angel in a mirror. I've talked before about Jensen's superior acting ability giving him the choice nearly solo shows, but it looks like Jared's going to get his Emmy submission clip next week.

And I can't see it! Waaaahhh! Okay, I'm not that upset. I'll be on retreat Thursday morning through Sunday, but if this year holds true to the last two, iTunes will have the finale up early-ish on Friday and we can download it and watch it together, me and my local gang of obsessed passionate fans.

Are we ready for the finale?

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Promo Photos: Jack Rowand/The CW ©2010 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

SPNews

[For some infuriating reason Blogger isn't allow me to paste text so I've been trying to post this little bit of news for way too long! Now retyping....]


News was really scarce this week ~


The CW is all atwitter about sweeps weeks so they're inviting viewers to "watch and tweet" with their favorite stars. Misha will be tweeting from 9:00-10:00 PM on Friday, May 7.


Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello has posted a freakin' hilarious, exclusive clip of this week's Two Minutes to Midnight. Warning: It does answer the "will he or won't he?" question regarding Bobby's soul.


Finally, I leave you with this adorable pic of Jensen and Danneel at the premier of The Back-Up Plan. (She plays J.Lo's nemesis.) Rumor has it May is their big month!

Happy Birthday, Sam!

It's May 2. Sam Winchester is 27 today.