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Dean has come to a dead end in his search for Gadreel when Crowley shows up to invite him on a hunting trip. A weapon called the First Blade is the only thing that can kill Abaddon, and Crowley has reason to believe that John "Father of the Year" Winchester knew something about it. Naturally, Dean is loath to go anywhere with Crowley, but he's kind of a glutton for punishment, so why not? Their search takes them to one of John's old storage lockers, which doesn't it seem like the Winchesters should have emptied those out ages ago? They're full of useful crap! Although they don't find the First Blade there, they do find a file that points them to one of John's old hunting partners.
That would be a lady named Tara, who looks like she could bench Dean with one well-muscled arm. Tara spent years looking for this weapon without luck, because she lacked one particular ingredient to perform the locator spell. Luckily, Crowley just happens to have the kraken squeezings that she needs, and she's soon able to point them to someplace in Missouri that's conveniently within driving distance. Also, she and John totally did it.
Meanwhile, back at the bunker, Castiel has been trying to work up a little locator spell of his own. In order to find Gadreel, he needs to extract a bit of the grace the angel left behind in Sam. So maybe the reason Gadreel didn't want to leave was that he knew he wouldn't get his rental deposit back, leaving all that goo behind. Anyway, the spell is unsuccessful, but the extraction process gives Sam and Castiel time to talk about sandwiches and molecules, and what it means to be human and to feel feelings. Castiel is hoping that Sam will call Dean for help, but it doesn't happen.
Dean and Crowley get to Missouri and find out that the guy who has this First Blade is Cain, of "Cain and Abel" fame. He became a demon after he killed his brother, made all those Knights of Hell for Lucifer, then later killed all of them except Abaddon. Something happened in the 1800s and he just decided to retire from everything except raising bees and growing a beard. He refuses to give the weapon away, even on loan. It's only after a horde of demons arrives and Dean kicks all their asses that Cain admits he feels the Winchester is a kindred soul. Dean is a bit offended by this at first, seeing as how Cain killed his little brother and basically invented murder. But Cain explains that he killed Abel to keep him from being taken by Lucifer -- that he sacrificed himself to save his brother. Twist! He tells Dean that he fell in love and got married once upon a time, only to accidentally kill his wife after she was possessed by Abaddon. He swore to her then that he would never kill again. He also tells Dean that the weapon is deep in the ocean somewhere, and it can't be used without the accompanying mark. Yes, that would be the mark of Cain, which you may know from such books of the Bible as Genesis. He then passes this mark on to Dean, asking only that Dean return to kill him when he's done with Abaddon.
So, how about that? Another biblical brothers storyline for Supernatural. Is another half-brother going to pop up to usurp Dean's role at the last moment? John and Tara did have that fling, after all... Kidding! Kidding. Totally kidding. The show wouldn't do that again, would it? Would it? Stay tuned for the full recap.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!THEN! The show introduced us to a Knight of Hell named Abaddon, and she looked amazing from the crown of her red, red hair to the tips of her even redder nails, even after she was burnt to a crisp. The also introduced us to the nth iteration of Winchester angst, this time the result of Dean letting some weirdo angel squat inside Sam like he was a dilapidated row house in the bad part of town. That angel pretended to be a good guy named Ezekiel, when he was actually a sucky loser named Gadreel. To prove he was loyal to Metatron, Gadreel killed Kevin Tran, then absconded with Sam's lanky bod. Crowley agreed to help evict squatter Gadreel in exchange for his own freedom, and a hot oil massage. Dean granted him the freedom part, but he was so distraught over the whole fiasco that he decided to hit the road all by his lonesome.
This brings us to Jasper Springs, Mississippi in 1863, according to the helpful chyron. A man in a Confederate soldier's uniform rides on horseback through windy, sepia-toned woods. Mournful violin music plays. The soldier stops outside a small cabin and ties his horse to a hitching post. Inside, two more soldiers warm their hands by the fireplace. Hearing the horse outside, one of them grabs his gun and stands at attention. "He's coming!" shouts the first soldier as he pushes his way inside. Everybody looks nervous. "Stand your ground, no matter what happens," he says. "The knight must be protected!"
The whole cabin begins to tremble, and the wind outside picks up. The curtains flap even though the windows are closed. That's how you know it's one of them there special winds. The soldiers look terrified. Their eyes go black. The door doesn't even open, and suddenly there's a man with a beard and a head of beautifully wavy hair standing there. He picks the soldier nearest him and grabs him under the jaw, lifting him off his feet like a doll. Intense red light explodes out of the demonic soldier's eyes and mouth. The intruder snaps his neck, then tosses him aside. The other soldiers shoot, to no effect. Were they not informed of their enemy's hardiness? Because they seemed a little surprised when he advances on them, completely unharmed. To save some money on the special effects budget, we witness the other soldiers' deaths from outside the cabin, as a spilling of red light through the windows. Two horses see this going on and they're just like, "Whatever."
We pick back up inside the cabin as the handsome intruder picks his way over the dead bodies of his fallen enemies. From the inside of his leather duster, he pulls out the jawbone of an animal that's been fashioned into a knife. He approaches an interior door and then, with one boot-clad foot, kicks it open to reveal...
... the Supernatural title card! Is he going to fight the show ? I hope he's going to fight the show.
In the present day, Dean has plunked himself down at that bar where Gadreel's first (and current) vessel worked. A waitress catwalks by, tosses her luxuriant hair and gives Dean an inviting smile. He looks receptive – and even stubblier than usual – but then Crowley materializes beside him at that precise moment. "So, is that boudoir smile for me?" purrs the erstwhile King of Hell and current cock blocker. He holds a red carnation to his nose in an almost coquettish fashion. Dean and his nascent beard are dismayed to see him. Dean reaches into his jacket for his demon-killing knife. "At least buy me a drink first," says Crowley with a downward glance at the knife. "I said the time I see you," Dean starts to him. But Crowley doesn't need reminding. He remembers perfectly well that Dean promised to kill him. "Let's not dwell on the past, shall we?" Crowley suggests. He says that Gadreel is no longer there, so why not move on to destroying Abaddon?
"Good luck with that," Dean grumbles. "The Knights of Hell aren't exactly the dying kind." Was last week the first time they mentioned the Knights being immortal? It might have been a good idea to bring that up earlier in the season – maybe a few times. "But there is something that can kill a Knight," Crowley says. Dean doesn't try to kill him, so he exposits on: "The weapon that the archangels used to execute them: the First Blade." Dean puts his own blade down on the bar, which seems like maybe not a great idea. What if Crowley just decided to go yoink! the thing and disappear? Maybe Dean is kind of really drunk.
Crowley goes on to explain about how one of his old minions heard about the weapon, but then got himself killed off by John Winchester before he could pass on the deets. "I'm here to see if there's anything in the John Winchester Memorial Library that might lead us to the First Blade." Dean looks at him like he can't believe the guavas on this guy. "You wanna hunt... with me?" he scoffs. "I do love a good buddy comedy," Crowley says. Dean looks at him for a long time, then puts away his knife and pulls out John's old journal. Maybe that's why he wears so many layers all the time. He can conceal all manner of weapons and reading material within the myriad pockets in his shirts and jackets.
While Dean flips through the journal, Crowley casts a suspicious eye at someone out of frame. Maybe another waitress is eying his man. The handwriting in the journal isn't as pretty as we've seen before. It says something about "powerful demons" and those "who are fallen are... called devils." Have there been devils on the show? Aside from Sam's old sideburns? The entry is short on details, but it does offer up a code that points to one of John's old storage lockers, as well as the single letter "T." "Let's go find Daddy's man-cave, shall we?" Crowley says. "How do I know this isn't a trap?" Dean asks. "You don't – but that's what makes it fun," Crowley says, taking another sniff of his carnation. Dean scowls, but leaves the bar with him. Watching them go is a guy sitting not two stools away, wearing a trucker cap that would give one of Bobby's old chapeaux a run for its money in the filth department. Then, just in case the sudden musical turn toward the ominous didn't clue us in as to his true nature, the guy's eyes go demonically black.
Lair O' Letters. Castiel sits at the map table, trying his level best to eat a sandwich. He takes a bite, screws up his face like a child made to eat liver, and grunts with disapproval. "It tastes like... molecules," he says as Sam walks into the room. "What are you talking about?" Sam asks. "When I was human, I had to eat constantly," Castiel explains. "It was kind of annoying... but I enjoyed the taste of food." He was particularly fond of peanut butter sandwiches, but now with his angelic taste buds restored, things are different. "I can taste every molecule," he says. "Not the sum of its parts," Sam anvils. Because it's a metaphor, you see. If you concentrate on the individual components – like Dean lying to Sam – then you miss out on the bigger picture – like big bro's good intentions. One wonders how long Castiel sat there with those sandwich fixins, coming up with the symbolism, before Sam's approach cued him to eat.
He changes the subject to Sam's healing session. "We're almost done," he says when Sam makes a sound of impatience. He touches his fingers to Sam's brow and looks worried. "What?" Sam prompts him. "Nothing," Castiel says. "You're a terrible liar," Sam says, batting away his hand. "That is not true," Castiel huffs. "I once deceived and betrayed both you and your brother!" Heh. Poor Sam. He doesn't realize that people's abilities vary wildly from episode to episode, depending on how stupid the plot requires them to be. Castiel says he felt something... resonating inside Sam. "It's something angelic," he says, following quickly with, "Maybe we should call Dean." What's Dean supposed to do about it? You're an actual bona fide angel, Cass! This is kinda in your wheelhouse! But everything from his sandwich musings onward is really about trying -- in his own awkward way -- to get the brothers Winchester back together. "He wanted to go and he's gone," Sam says. "We'll handle this." Castiel looks like he's got a sudden case of heartburn, and not from his sandwich.
Dean has covered Crowley's head with a black cloth sack and removes it only when they get to John's old storage locker. Is it a magic sack? Because it's not like Crowley is bound anymore. He can probably sense where he is just with regular old demon magic. "Was all this really necessary?" Crowley asks. "I mean, I've been inside your brother; we're practically family!" Dean grabs Crowley by the lapels of his tailored suit and shoves him against a shelving unit. "You listen to me: we are the furthest thing from family. You got that, dickbag?" When is he going to learn that Crowley likes the rough stuff? It's practically foreplay for him. But for once, Crowley doesn't have a flirtatious little comeback, and backs down. Dean lets go of him, growling, "You wanna hunt, let's hunt."
Dean ventures further into the locker, but Crowley's path is barred by a devil's trap painted on the floor. He busies himself with sniffing around old spice jars or magic ingredients, or whatever they are, while Dean pokes through a ratty desk. The brothers really should have excavated these lockers ages ago, shouldn't they? It's not like they're hurting for storage space now. Plus, this crap looks pretty useful. Dusty and gross, but useful! Dean quickly finds a file with neatly typed notes and printout about Cain and Abel. "Looks like my dad was working with another hunter," he says. He shows Crowley some actress's black-and-white audition photo. She has Pat Benatar's old hair and Sarah Connor's old arms. "I guess the 'T' didn't stand for 'terrible father,'" Crowley says. "Tara," Dean reads off the photo. Can't it stand for both? He scans the notes. "Looks like they exorcised the demon, but not before he mentioned the First Blade." There's not much else in the file, so they decide to go visit Tara.
As we drop back in on the LOL, the camera pans over an old-looking book titled Angelicos Bellatorum. Angel Wars? Sounds like a goth band. "I found something," Castiel announces, reading from another book. "It's a detail about when angels leave their vessels, I think. It's Enochian, which can be a bit flowery." He reads to Sam: "And the departed shall remain, and the remains shall be the departed." Castiel looks confused, so Sam translates: "When an angel leaves a vessel, they leave behind a piece of themselves, like an angelic fingerprint." I would have compared it to the remnants of a hearty steak dinner left clinging to the walls of one's colon, but whatever. Also, shouldn't Castiel already know these things? He's possessed more than one vessel. Did he not notice he was shedding bits of himself in people? Like he notices the molecules of a sandwich, but not his own angelic flotsam? "Whatever you want to call it," Castiel says, "this piece of the 'departed' contains grace." He says it's fading with every healing session, but they might be able to extract what's left and use it to find Gadreel. He finds an old Men of Letters file with handy instructions, and an illustration of a big, honking syringe. "The Men of Letters believed you could perform a tracking spell with extracted grace, but they were never able to test the theory," Castiel says. "Well, they didn't have a guinea pig, and we do," Sam says. "You have a guinea pig?" Castiel dumbly asks.
Dean and Crowley make their way to a pawn shop creatively named Tara's Pawn Shop. They find Tara behind the counter, reading the first issue of Locke & Key. The Pat Benatar hair is gone, but the muscles are perhaps even more impressive. "Can I help you?" she asks. "Yeah, I hope so," Dean says. "Does John Winchester ring a bell?" She doesn't say anything, so Dean adds, "I'm his son." She looks doubtful, but asks, "Sam or Dean?" They establish who he is, then her right knee suddenly buckles. The camera spends too much time on it for it to be insignificant. "Didn't you grow up pretty," she notices. Dean doesn't look as flattered as one might expect. While he's trying to bullshit her about his business associate, Tara pulls a double-barreled shotgun out from behind the counter. "Ever since '92, I get a painful little tickle in what's left of my knee whenever a demon's around." Crowley decides to blip out of there while the hunters sort things out, but it turns out there's a devil's trap under the rug beneath his feet.
Dean tries to explain. "Tara, my associate – " Crowley cuts him off with a correction: "Friends! Besties, actually!" This only makes matters worse, of course. Tara keeps her gun aimed squarely at Crowley's chest. "Look, I'm the King of Hell, he's a Winchester. There's a reason why we're working together." Tara, assuming Dean to be possessed, splashes him in the face with holy water. To her surprise, he remains as pretty as ever instead of bubbling up like the cheese on a piping hot pizza. Dean says they're looking for the First Blade. "You are as handsome as John, and as dumb, too, if you're lookin' for that old relic," she says. "We're hunting a Knight of Hell," Dean says simply.
Tara brings out her old notes, meticulously written out on parchment with detailed drawings. How very old-fashioned. "The demon said the archangels used a weapon that could kill the Knights of Hell," she says. Yes, yes, we already know that part. She says she and John thought the demon was lying, that they'd never heard of the Knights or the First Blade. "So we took him out, and then had a lovely weekend together!" This union better not have produced another half-brother who's waiting in the wings. Tara doesn't say anything about that, but does say she kept looking for the weapon after John left. It's funny how John dismissed the idea of the First Blade, but was like, "I totally buy that Samuel Colt made a gun that can kill anything!" Tara says she looked all over the world for the weapon, but never found it. "All I found was a location spell for the blade that I could never finish," she says, producing a tray of ingredients from her wall safe. She lacked the "essence of kraken" that the spell required. Luckily, it just so happens Crowley has some kraken goo stashed in Belize, so Tara reluctantly sets him free of her devil's trap. She does this by shooting the floor where the symbol is painted, instead of doing something sensible like, say, scratching it with a knife. How do hunters even make it past their first hunt?
"You know, even if that blade is real, it ain't worth being bosom buddies with the King of Hell," Tara says. "Abaddon is way worse," Dean swears. Is she really? We've seen so little of her that the threat just doesn't seem terribly pressing. "I'll deal with Crowley after," he says. "You sound just like your dad when he said he'd call me," she says. They stand there stewing in the juices of awkwardness until Crowley pops back in with a little bronze dish of kraken cracklins.
Tara mixes up all the ingredients, then pours them over a map of the contiguous United States. I like how they don't even bother considering that this thing might be in, like, Nigeria or Wales, or even Alaska or Hawaii. As Dean lights the map on fire, everything burns away but Missouri. "Would you care to join us?" Crowley asks. "Him, anytime," she says, nodding at Dean. "You? Never." Crowley smirks, because it's not like he actually expected her to take him up on the invite.
Somehow, Dean and his plus-one have narrowed down all of Missouri to a quaint little farmhouse near the edge of a misty forest. As they get out of the car, Crowley suddenly looks like his intestines have filled with ice. "I feel something dark," he says, grabbing onto Dean's arm. "What, darker than you?" Dean scoffs. Crowley quakes as a man in a beekeeper's protective suit. How is this guy afraid of being stung by bees? "We need to leave here now," Crowley says, all but pulling at Dean's shirtsleeves like a frightened child. "What, are you allergic to bees?" Dean says with snark. "That's not a beekeeper – that's the father of murder," Crowley says. He explains it's Cain, from "Cain and Abel" fame. Crowley turns to head back to the Impala, but suddenly Cain is standing in his way. "You're not going anywhere, Crowley," Cain says, lifting up his protective veil. It's the bearded demon-killer from the teaser. Drums add a dramatic note of punctuation to see us off to the commercials.
When we return, Crowley and Dean have been seated in the farmhouse's cozy living room. A toasty fire burns in the hearth. The stained glass in the windows feature scenes from an apiary. Dean notices that Crowley is fidgeting. "Why don't you just zap out of here?" he asks. "I'd never leave my domestic partner in crime," Crowley says. He admits he can't leave, and it's Cain's doing. Cain is off somewhere, and Dean and Crowley are just sitting around waiting, which just seems like a waste of time. So they sit and exposit, which the show is just super in love with, and we learn that Cain became a demon after he killed his brother. "He killed thousands – the best at being the worst," Crowley says. "And then he just... disappeared." For some reason, Cain has a case of bees right there in his living room.
"Do either of you keep bees?" Cain asks, walking into the room with accoutrements for a tea party. Seriously, he has adorably mismatched teacups, as one might accumulate through many trips to a flea market, or by living a very, very long time. "It's very relaxing," he says. "They're such noble creatures, and they honey! Well, I keep it right on the comb." He serves everybody some tea while he mourns the looming demise of bees. Crowley holds his cup with shaking hands, like he's having tea with Hyacinth Bucket. "So," Cain wonders, "what are the King of Hell and a Winchester doing at my house?" Dean looks very cute with his wee cup in his big mitts. "You know who we are?" he asks. "I'm retired, not dead," Cain says. He joins them in their sit-and-chat, and wonders why they're looking for him and how they found him. Crowley starts to bullshit something, so Cain just goes, "Shh!" and suddenly he can't talk anymore. "Oh, you gotta teach me how to do that," Dean says.
"Why are you here, Dean?" Cain asks, losing his patience. "We're looking for the weapon the archangels used to kill the Knights of Hell," Dean says. As soon as Dean mentions Abaddon's name, Cain's hand curls into a fist. This doesn't escape Dean's notice, and neither does the ornate silver band on Cain's ring finger. Now, either Timothy Omundson has naturally scruffy nails, or the makeup department had a very keen eye for detail, because these are very believably the hands of a farmer. Cain says nothing, so Dean goes on. "Look, we're not here to get between you and the demonic AARP, but it's bad out there and I'm just lookin' to even the odds." He says they weren't even looking for him, and that the location spell was for the First Blade. Cain gives him a long, considering look. "Anyone else know you're here?" he asks. "No," Dean lies. Or maybe it's not totally a lie. Tara only knows that they're somewhere in Missouri, right?
Speaking of Tara... There she is in her pawn shop, doing everything but repairing that devil's trap she shot up. She probably regrets this the moment her knee twinges and that demon from the bar walks in. "'Scuse me, ma'am," the demon says with mock politeness. "I wonder if you might have seen a some of my friends pass through here? Big guy, kinda funny ears..." Of all the ways to describe Dean Winchester, he goes with that? Tara grabs her gun and shoots.
Cain decides that he's had enough of the sit-and-chat format, and bids them adieu. "You can let yourselves out," he says, walking away. "Hey, pal, we're not leaving here without the blade," Dean says. Either he's profoundly stupid or he has cojones the size of watermelons. Cain kindly gives him the benefit of the doubt: "I see the part about you being brave rings true!" Cain says he's the one who trained the Knights of Hell, and he's the one who killed them, but declines to explain why. Story tease! "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have errands to run in town," he says. "Goodbye, Dean Winchester. Never return." With that, the first murderer just walks out of the room.
Dean and Crowley make their way toward the Impala. "Well that was lovely," Crowley says. "Can we leave the country now?" And since nobody ever thinks to look for anyone or anything outside America, that would be the most effective escape plan. "You said the First Blade was our only shot at killing Abaddon," Dean reminds him. He plans to wait until Cain is away from home, then break in and take the blade.
Back at the lair, Sam and Castiel are gathering their tools for the extraction. "Sam, may I ask you a question?" Castiel asks. "You just did," Sam says. So Castiel punches him in the face and shouts, "You are terrible at banter!" Or maybe the two of them just continue on in this unfunny fashion until Sam finally gives up. "Sam, the trials -- you chose not to go through with them for a reason, didn't you?" Castiel asks. Then he answers for Sam: "You chose to live, rather than to sacrifice yourself." Sam's not falling for that little bit of logic! "But then Dean chose for me," he argues. Castiel tries to rebut, but Sam cuts him off. "Dean's gone! This is on me now. If I can find Gadreel, then I can fix this." What is the "this" that Sam thinks he's going to fix? Is he trying to bring back Kevin? Find out who Gadreel is working for? Goals are so nebulous on this show.
The two of them make their way into the infirmary, because the LOL has one of those, apparently. Sam strips off one of his shirts and hands the syringe to Castiel. He takes a deep breath and settles himself onto an examination table. I was waiting for Castiel to be like, "All right, put your feet in the stirrups," but apparently it's not that kind of deal.
Dean and Crowley return to Cain's House of Bees. "This is by far the dumbest idea you've ever had," Crowley whispers. Hahaha! No. I mean, it's dumb, but it doesn't even crack the top ten. When they split up to search the house, the first thing Dean finds is a framed photo of a woman who's wearing a ring like Cain's. Her name -- Colette -- has been helpfully written at the bottom of her picture. Also, there is a carton of milk sitting out on the kitchen counter. Ew.
Meanwhile that trucker cap demon pulls up outside Cain's house and makes a phone call. "You'll never believe what the Winchester and Crowley found," he says. "Send backup," he tells whoever is on the other end. "Send everybody." One side of his face has been nearly blasted off, leaving deep, bloody pits and bits of flesh flapping about. For some reason, that's the side to which he holds his phone, then winces when he pulls it away. Use your other ear, dumbass!
Castiel places a steadying hand on Sam's considerable brow, and jabs him under the jaw with the syringe. It seems like kind of a random place. Sam huffs in pain. "Now comes the part that will actually hurt," Castiel warns. He pulls up on the plunger and extracts a bit of swirling blue light. "Is it working?" Sam asks. "Yeah, but I need to push the needle in deeper," Castiel says. "We need more grace in order to cast the spell." He tries to warn Sam there could be dire consequences if he goes too deep, but Sam commands him to keep going. Also, can't Castiel just heal him up if he makes an oopsie? Just not seeing the big worry here. As Castiel nudges the needle further in, Sam has flashes of his as Gadreel's vessel, as well as his own declining health through the trials. As soon as the needle is out, the flashes stop. "What the hell was that?" Sam gasps. That was the show trying to make your part of the episode as interesting as the A-Plot. "Your body is regressing to the state it was in before Gadreel," Castiel says. Nonetheless, Sam tells him to keep going until they have enough grace for the spell.
Dean and Crowley meet up after their search through Cain's house has left them empty-handed, more or less. "I figured out why he went off the reservation so many years ago," Dean says, handing Crowley the photo. "Lovely, a little plain," Crowley judges. They try to skedaddle when they hear Cain returning from his errands, but find the doors locked. "That belongs to me," Cain says. He's got a bag of groceries in one arm. Crowley returns the photo with apologies.
Before they can worry about the repercussions of their snooping session, they notice Trucker Cap and his friends pulling up outside. Apparently somebody sent "backup," but Trucker Cap had to go pick them up. "Your friend Tara was very helpful!" shouts Trucker Cap. "Got downright chatty after I peeled all her skin off!" Wouldn't she just... die... without skin? It doesn't seem like something conducive to chattiness. Trucker Cap says he just wants Crowley and Dean, so he can bring them to Abaddon. "This lot all need to die," Crowley grumbles. Dean decides there are too many of them to fight, even though there are only six of them and he has the bloody King of Hell with him. He should be like, "Yo, snap your fingers and turn them all into ground chuck, your royal jerkness!" Instead, he goes about blockading the doors.
"Well, good luck with that!" Cain says. Dean is surprised Cain isn't going to fight on their side. Dude is retired. What's there to be surprised about? Cain takes his groceries into the kitchen. "If you survive, you're welcome to join me for the last meal I'll in this house before I disappear again!" He's kind of pissed about Dean exposing him to the demons. Dean gapes like he can't believe that the Father of Murder isn't a totally standup guy.
Back to Sam making funny faces while Castiel continues sucking angel goo out of him. "Keep going," Sam snuffles when Castiel hesitates. "Why must the Winchesters run toward death?" Castiel wonders. He tries to pull out, but Sam grabs on and shoves it back in. Castiel reminds him how precious life is, but Sam is determined. "Please, please help me do one thing right," he pleads. He's really racked by guilt over Kevin's death, but Castiel is nearly as tortured by the thought of harming Sam. Nonetheless, he pushes in deeper.
Cain, the first farmer, has a pantry stocked with canned vegetables. He retired from more than killing, it seems. Dean pushes the fridge in front of the kitchen door. "You take the front," Dean tells Crowley. The King of Hell does as he's told, and wordlessly closes the French doors behind him. Any time you see a closed glass door on this show, you know somebody's about to come hurtling through it. Cain sits at his table, shucking some delicious-looking ears of corn. "So this is your play – corn?" Dean asks. "What am I not getting here? I mean, it's not like you're not a coward." Cain scoffs. "Since when does the great Dean Winchester ask for help?" Dude, all the time! Cain decides to test Dean, or maybe just make things a bit more interesting, because oy, enough with the talking! He snaps his fingers and the fridge moves away from the door.
Trucker Cap and a lady friend barge into the kitchen. With another snap of his fingers, Cain moves the fridge back in front of the door, sealing everybody inside. "Don't mind me," he says. "Enjoy yourselves!" Right on cue, some random demon comes hurtling through those glass doors. What happens is the best and most creative hand-to-hand fight scene the show has had in a very long time. It's so entertaining that I forgot to recap it and just watched it. So, time to rewind a bit.
Random Demon tangles with Dean, then throws him over the kitchen table. This only serves to put Dean in exactly the right place to grab Trucker Cap and gut him with his demon-killing blade. Trucker Cap looks pretty surprised, and then he looks pretty dead. Lady Friend and Random Demon go after Dean together, and lay him out on the table. Cain just keeps shucking his corn and quirks an eyebrow at Dean. "You're doing great," he says. With a mighty kick, Dean sends Lady Friend flying into the wall, then punches Random about the face a few times. At some point during the melee, Lady Friend has grabbed hold of Dean's knife. She comes at him with it, but he grabs a towel off the counter, catches her with it and then slingshots her into the china cabinet. When Random comes at him again, Dean just starts hurling crap at him. He manages to stab Lady Friend while Random is looking for a weapon of his own.
Out in the living room, Crowley finds himself staring down some kid demon. "Isn't it past your bedtime?" Crowley snarkily says. Kid Demon lands a kick that sends Crowley sprawling to the floor. "You're good," Crowley says, then stabs Kid Demon with an angel blade as he's getting back up. "But I'm Crowley." Heh.
Random and Dean are still duking it out. Cain grabs himself a beer and watches while Dean finally gets his opponent down on the table. He skewers Random through the throat, then looks up at Cain with what might be one of Dean's scariest goddamned expressions ever. Any lesser demon would simply self-exorcise under the intensity of that glare. Cain gives him an equally intense look, although his is full of consideration and measuring, and not so much with the I want to kill you in the face right now.
Dean picks up on it. "What was this – some kind of a test?" he asks. "I felt connected to you right from the beginning," Cain says. "Kindred spirits, if you will." Dean bristles at that. "Yeah, except I didn't kill my brother," he says. "You saved yours," Cain agrees. Then: "Why?" Because he's crazy codependent, that's why. "Because you never give up on family – ever," Dean says. Cain points out Sam isn't there with him. Dean doesn't want to talk about that, though, so he reiterates his need for the First Blade. Cain goes about cooking his corn and says he no longer has the weapon.
Castiel pokes around for more grace leavings, and then he notices his peanut butter sandwich on the table. What's it doing in the infirmary? He thinks and thinks, then thinks some more. Blood oozes out of Sam's eyes and nose. Castiel withdraws the needle, then heals Sam with a touch. Sam sits up with a start. "Cass! What the hell was that?" "I've healed your wounds completely," Castiel says. He's not sure if there's enough grace for the spell, but didn't want to risk losing Sam. "Being human didn't just change my view of food," he says. "It changed my view of you." He says he can relate more now. "The only person who has screwed things up more consistently than you... is me," he says. He knows what guilt feels like now. He seemed to feel pretty guilty as an angel, too, but whatever. He even says there was a time that he would have kept going with that needle until Sam died. That doesn't seem to jibe with anything in the show, though. The worst he's done to Sam was break his brain, and that was getting hopped up on monster souls. What version of his old self is he saying would kill Sam? Oh, hey, he's still talking: "That PB&J taught me angels can change. Maybe Winchesters can, too." Don't hold your breath, sandwich boy.
Crowley's having a hard time believing that Cain doesn't have the First Blade. Why else would the spell have pointed them there? Cain pulls up the sleeve of his shirt and shows a scar on the inside of his arm. Cain himself is the source of the blade's power, and that's why the spell focused on him. Crowley sees the scar and makes the sign of the cross. "It's the bloody mark of Cain!" he whisper-shouts. "From Lucifer himself," Cain says. It looks kind of like a backwards F, or maybe an ideogram meant to represent the gap-toothed blade. "The mark and the blade work together," he says. "Without the mark, the blade is useless. It's just an old bone." This is the first Crowley's hearing about bones, which gives Dean the opportunity to show off his intermittent smarts. "It's the jawbone you used to kill Abel, because he was God's favorite." But there's a twist! It turns out that Abel wasn't talking to God, but to Lucifer. Cain explains that Lucifer wanted Abel, so Cain made a deal to take his place. "Lucifer accepted, as long as I was the one who sent Abel to Heaven," he says. "So I killed him, became a soldier of Hell." He went on killing rampages with his fellow Knights, and then he met Colette. "She loved me unconditionally. She forgave me." He looks at Crowley when he says this. Coincidence or foreshadowing? Colette asked him to stop killing, and so he did. "When the Knights found out, they took retribution. They took Colette, so I picked the First Blade back up, and it felt so good to have in my hands again, and I slaughtered the Knights of Hell." All except one...
Flashback to the sepia-toned days of yesteryear. Cain kicks open that door that we saw in the teaser. This time, it's not the title card awaiting him, but Colette. He starts toward her, overjoyed, then realizes she's not who she seems. "What have you done to my wife?" he asks. Her eyes turn black. "Answer me, Abaddon!" If it was Abaddon in there the whole time, then what the hell were those soldiers for? Asking lesser demons to protect a Knight of Hell seems like hiring kittens to protect a lion. Abaddon wants him to come back to the Knights. Of course he refuses, so Abaddon starts breaking Colette's body from the inside. "We could have been forever," Abaddon says. "But you chose her!" This isn't all boiling down to a spurned lover thing, is it? Because ew. She begins to smoke her way out of Colette's body. Cain, with terrible timing, moves an instant too late and ends up stabbing a completely un-possessed Colette. She crumples against him, gasping in pain. He falls with her to the floor, crying, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" For some reason, Colette doesn't want him to go after Abaddon. "There's been enough killing," she says. "Promise me." She goes limp in his arms and he weeps against her lifeless body.
"So I buried her and I walked away," he finishes in the present day. "Well, I'm sorry, truly," Dean says. "But I have to stop Abaddon." Cain turns away, but Dean grabs him and points the tip of his demon-killing knife at him. "You may be done killing, but I'm not!" Crowley's face goes, "Oh shit!" Cain grabs Dean's hand and pulls the knife into his heart. It does less damage than the slap of a gnat's wing. "You never give up on anything, do you?" Cain sneers. "Never," Dean agrees. Cain disappears just as hordes of demons come running up to the house.
Cain drops to his knees at Colette's grave. "I've tried to see myself as you did, but I know who I am, what I am. I know you watch over me still, but I need you to look away now." Distant shouts of the approaching demons can be heard. Cain presses a kiss to the soil.
Dean is surprised when Cain reappears in front of the fireplace. "I can give you the mark, Dean, if it's what you truly want," Cain says. He says the mark can be transferred to someone who's "worthy," which Dean takes to mean another killer. Dozens of demons pour out of the woods and pound on the farmhouse doors. "Can I use it to kill that bitch?" Dean asks. "Yes, but you have to know that with the mark comes a great burden," Cain says. "Some would call it a great cost." But Winchesters aren't known for asking about the little details, so Dean clasps hands with Cain as if shaking on a deal. Cain's scar dissipates into thread-like red veins that travel down his forearm, up through Dean's hand and then coalesce into a new scar. It sizzles like a steak on the grill. Dean grunts with the pain, and just about doubles over. Cain says he threw the blade into the deepest ocean, and Crowley makes a face that's like a face palm without the palm. Good luck driving to the Marianas Trench – it's not even in America! "You find the blade, kill Abaddon, but make me a promise first," Cain says. He probably should have gotten the promise before he transferred the mark, right? He goes on: "When I call you – and I will call – you come find me, and use the blade on me." Dean doesn't promise, but Cain zaps both him and Crowley back to the Impala. Meanwhile, Cain stays behind to fight off all the demons. Dean and Crowley make their escape while the farmhouse lights up like the Red Light District in Amsterdam.
Back at the LOL, Sam and Castiel mix up the angelic tracking spell. It smokes and bubbles, then falls flat as a gas-station soda. Nothing else happens. "Was that... it?" Sam asks. "I'm afraid there wasn't enough grace," Castiel says. "I'm sorry, Sam." Sam practically deflates with disappointment, but sucks it up as best he can. "You were right about everything," Sam says, throwing his arms around Castiel's shoulders. Castiel is so surprised that he just kind of... stands there. Sam pats him on the back and sways with the sheer force of the hug. "This is the part where you hug back," Sam says into his shoulder. "Oh, right," Castiel says, awkwardly bringing his hands up to Sam's back for a little pat pat pat. They finally part from their epic hug, with Castiel saying it's Metatron they should be looking for. "I'm gonna find him," he says. He starts to leave, then turns back to Sam. "You know, we could use all the help we could get to find Gadreel and Metatron." But Sam is determined not to call Dean. Apparently when he said Castiel was right about everything, he meant almost everything. Maybe the angel should have used a hoagie metaphor.
Dean and Crowley drive up to the edge of some waterside park. Maybe the Marianas Trench has moved to Missouri? "He was right, you know," Crowley says. "You are worthy." This comforts Dean not a bit: "Aw, great, now you're gonna get all touchy-feely, too?" Crowley points out a fact that many a viewer long ago realized: "Your problem is, mate, is that nobody hates you more than you." Man, thanks to Trucker Cap I can't stop noticing how pointy Dean's ears are. With that beard coming in, it's like looking at the Wolf Man or something. Dean isn't up for talking about his self-esteem issues with the King of Hell, so he moves on to another subject. "How do we find this blade?" Crowley says Dean obviously can't search the bottom of the ocean. (Impala's like, "I bet I could do it, asshole.") Crowley, however, can. He's going to possess one of those deep-sea angler fish! Ooh, or maybe a goblin shark!
They both get out of the car, but before Crowley can depart, Dean has one more topic he'd like to discuss. "I saw you back at Cain's," he says. "You dusted that undercard demon, and then you just sat back." Such is the power of Dean's intermittent observational skills that he was able to keep an eye on what Crowley was doing while he himself was engaged in thrilling combat with multiple demons. Why can't the show let him be this smart and competent all the time? "You knew," Dean says. "You knew about the mark, you knew about Abaddon and Cain, you knew all of it... and you played me." We flash back to Crowley making a big show of shaking his teacup in "fear," to noticing Trucker Cap in the bar when he was glancing out of frame. "Why?" Dean asks. "I knew he wouldn't give me the blade," Crowley says. "But who can resist you?" He wanted Dean to fight those demons so that Cain would get to see him in action. Dean blames Crowley for Tara's death, which, yeah. Let that be a lesson to all you hunters out there about irreparably damaging your own damned devil's trap. Crowley makes no apologies, so Dean punches him in the face. Dean probably would have punched him in the face even if he had apologized, though, because Crowley's an asshole and it shouldn't be forgotten. Or unpunished. "After I kill Abaddon, you're !" Crowley scoffs, but blips away to go look for the blade.
Dean seethes with quiet rage, then winces at the sudden pain in his arm. He rolls up his sleeve to look at his new storyline. Yup, still there. But for how long?
So, that's the episode, and, hey! It was actually a good one! First, there was an interesting new character in Cain, and a fantastic portrayal by the actor. Second, the twist in the biblical story was actually fresh, and fit into the show without too much shoehorning. Then there was that amazing fight scene and it was holy crap so awesome. The Sam and Castiel scenes were slow and drawn out, and the episode still leaned too much on its old standby of the sit-and-chat, and there could have been a much better lead-in with showing Abaddon as an imminent threat. But overall? It was still easily the best episode of the season so far.
Tippi Blevins has received the Mark of the Recapper. Contact her at b_tippi@yahoo.com, or find her her on Twitter: @TippiB.