#naomi and cas scenes also in enochian

[ananke-xiii]

ghostfacers effect yes but let's not forget that uriel would never speak in english with cas. lucifer and cas scene in s5? also in enochian. michael and cas in s15? same. you'll never take this hc away from me.

[shirtlesssammy]

8x10: Torn and Frayed

Then:

True love is reunited

Now:

Our poor angel Alfie Samandriel continues to get tortured by Crowley’s minions. 

Dean finds Sam chilling in a motel in Kermit, Texas. They instantly jump into rehashing what happened with Martin and Benny. Sam’s just pissed that Dean would use Amelia’s possible death to pull him away from the case. (Note to Sam: Amelia can’t be threatened with death because she never existed outside of your mind.) Anyway, Sam wants Dean to be done with Benny. 

Meanwhile, Cas flaps in to help a mother with a crying baby. I love this scene --definitely top tier Cas for me. 

For Angel Science:

He’s gone just as soon as he arrives. Naomi calls him back to Heaven to track down Samandriel. He’ll need help.

For It’s Just Creepy Science:

Dean spills his beer all over at the sight of Cas.

Cas jumps right into asking for help in locating Samandriel. Dean’s on board when he mentions that Crowley has the angel. Also, for some reason, Dean doesn’t want Cas to see his porn --the shit that he practically brags about to all the other random people in his life. Weird. Anyway, Samandriel is near Hastings, Nebraska. Angel screams cause a ripple effect of strange happenings. 

Cas eventually gets around to inquiring about Sam, lol, but Dean brushes off the question. They’ll work the case alone. 

Sam’s busy watching dung beetle documentaries. Amelia shows up to explain herself. (Also, she’s not really there and that’s why they can finish each other’s sentences --Sam, you’re talking to yourself.) Amelia wants to know why Sam’s regressing back. Sam thought she was in trouble --but he’ll leave now that he knows she’s okay. Then they kiss. 

Samandriel is having no luck convincing the demon to let him go.

The demon hits something deep in Alfie’s insides, and he starts chanting. A man hears the chant and watches a bush catch fire (and get a little singed in the process.) 

Dean and Cas head to the hospital to interview the poor guy. He recites the chant he heard. It’s Enochian, and means “Obey.”

Cas can’t fathom the amount of pain Alfie must be in to set a bush on fire. Dean suggests they head out and search for the demons that have him.

Sam’s mopey after having mistake sex with Amelia.

Shirtless Sammy Alert:

They have to figure their shit out, so Amelia suggests they think about things and meet/don’t meet two days from then. 

Meanwhile, Dean and Cas are having no luck on the Alfie hunt and Dean just wants to go on a date with Cas. Unfortunately, Cas can see demons outside their latest abandoned factory. There’s angel warding --and Dean and the demon knife just won’t be enough. Cas suggests getting Sam. Dean is vehemently against it. 

Instead, they head to Garth’s boat. Kevin is busy. Cas states the unfortunate truth: “You look horrible.” 

They want another demon bomb. Kevin starts listing impossible-to-get ingredients, making it clear to Dean that his quest is pointless. Cas asks for the list, because he’s BAMF.

Crowley checks out the recent development with Alfie, and realizes they’ve found the angels’ OS. 

Back at the ranch, Kevin continues to toil over translation while Dean plays the role of extremely annoying impatient bro in the background. Kevin puts on a pair of noise canceling headphones which is...relatable. Benny calls and apologizes for the death of Martin in the previous episode. He needs a little support, and Dean promises to be there as soon as he wraps up his current case. (Last episode was Dean/Benny vs Sam/Amelia and this episode it’s Dean/Cas vs Sam/Amelia and I’m gonna chew my own arm off.)

Dean learns that Kevin sent his mom away. “I can’t enjoy a world I need to save, Dean,” Kevin says tiredly. DAMN if that line doesn’t hit. He bends back to his task.

Meanwhile, Cas flaps in next to Sam who was moping on a park bench, and then returns to Kevin’s lair with Sam in tow. Cas bitchily sorts through the ingredients for their spell while Sam and Dean henpeck at each other, until he loses his cool and orders the Winchesters to “stow their crap” and get his job done. YAAAS here for this!

In directing tics that I can’t unsee news, Robert Singer zooms dramatically in on each Winchester. WILL they solve their crap? Or will they continue to be at odds? Stay tuned for this recycled plot non-twist! 

Having adequately stowed their crap, they pull up outside the warehouse in the dead of night. Cas instructs the Winchesters to destroy the angel warding sigils so he can rescue Samandriel. He hands Sam an angel blade (!!!) and tells him that it will also kill demons (!!!). I confess, I do love re-encountering these foundational bits of lore in these recaps. 

Meanwhile, Crowley continues to hack into Samandriel and stumbles across word of tablets. The Winchesters take out the last sigil just in time, because Crowley appears to have stumbled across something juicy. Cas flaps into the building, albeit a little woozy. He blames it on the sigils.

They hurry to open the door and rescue Samandriel. Or they try, at least. As Dean and Sam pound away on the door, Cas raises his hands to his ears as his experience of the moment is intercut with memories of Naomi hovering over him with a needle. Castiel sinks to the floor, cowering against an invisible foe. 

For PROTECT Science:

Cas continues to experience horrible flashbacks of his own heavenly torture while Dean and Sam hurl themselves at the door. When they finally break it down, Crowley’s gone and safe with him is his new Samandriel-sourced secret: there’s an angel tablet. As Cas removes the needles from Samandriel, he remembers:

Cas pulls the halo device off of Samandriel and flaps away while Dean dispatches the last demon. Outside, Samandriel begs for help. He can’t go back to Heaven - he inadvertently revealed secrets to Crowley. “Heaven, Naomi,” Samandriel begins his list of secrets. When Cas asks who Naomi is, Samandriel gasps. “They’re controlling us, Castiel.”

Cas is suddenly back in Heaven’s office space. Naomi looms over him, ordering him to kill Samandriel. On Earth, Cas stabs him. Back in Heaven, Cas reels over what he just did. He tried to save Samandriel so he could atone for his past actions. Naomi interrupts - Samandriel was broken and a traitor and deserved what he got for revealing the existence of an angel tablet to Crowley. 

We return to the BREAKING MY HEART TIMEZONE, where Cas is just. cradling. Samandriel. 

P R O T E C C

Dean and Sam run up. Almost robotically, Cas parrots Naomi’s lines to the Winchesters. He explains that Samandriel turned on him and was killed in self-defense. He now needs to flap off to Heaven with Samandriel’s body. Dean peers suspiciously at him - if not for his sudden cool demeanor then certainly for the trickle of blood spilling from Castiel’s eye. Cas fucks off, sadly, for places heavenward.

Later, Dean and Sam convene in a room warded against angels. They start to talk through what might be up with Cas, before Dean pulls away. Doesn’t Sam need to get back to his girl? 

Dean opines that maybe at least one Winchester deserves to have a happy ending. I CHEW GLASS VERY LOUDLY AND WITH GREAT VIGOR. Sam decides there’s still too much to do in the supernatural sphere. He’s going to stick around. Now that Sam’s decided to walk away from his temporary love interest, Dean calls Benny and LITERALLY DOES THE SAME. He tells Benny that he can’t come see him, and they also can’t talk again. 

Later, Dean watches TV moodily, alone. Amelia checks in on the empty motel room, alone. And then we learn that Dean wasn’t QUITE alone. Sam settles next to his sad brother with sad beers and chili, and the bad decisions bus trundles ever onward.

Sadtown is the Next Quote on the Bad Decisions Bus:

That depends. It depends on you. On whether or not you're done with him

It seems this is gonna involve talking to people

Hey, what do you say, this doesn't pan out, we head back to that beer-and-bacon happy hour about a mile back?

I've given you every torture instrument known to man – short of a Neil Diamond album

I can't enjoy a world I need to save

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive!

[castiel-kline]

KitKat’s Random Rewatch (part 1)

So I’m rewatching a bunch of SPN episodes with no rhyme or reason to the order. Legit just whatever episode I’m feeling. And I thought why not just infodump my thoughts, because I haven’t seen a bunch of these in a hot minute. So if you’re interested in reading my ramblings, keep a lookout for these posts. 

We’re starting with Byzantium (14x08). It still hurts upon rewatch, trust me. 

My god Jack is too sweet

Is it a rule that all cinnamon rolls must say something heartbreakingly pure before dying? Because Jack saying “please don’t be sad” and “then it’ll be an adventure” go straight to my heart. And break it. Jack, please stop killing me

My god SAM’S FACE IM CRYING

Cas honey don’t leave the room

Oh NO after watching 15x15 knowing that Cas still makes the distinction between Jack dying this time because he missed it and the next makes this hurt so much more

Not to be bitter but why is the camera lingering on only Dean’s face before the title card?

Iconic shot of the three of them sad in the hallway

“Your brother’s in pain” ahhHHH Cas stop

The montage of Sam and Cas mourning while Dean’s calling Mary... oof. Side note, did we ever follow up on this voicemail? Because Dean did not sugarcoat so Mary probably had an attack listening to it

The shot of Cas holding the picture of Kelly while standing over Jack’s body.... IM SOBBING

totally forgot Cas saw Sam leaving JUST GO AFTER YOUR FRIEND CAS DARNIT

I mean I do appreciate that Cas respects Sam’s space, but y��all are grieving co-parents. Just hug and cry, it’s okay

Definitely remember my heart stopping the first time when Dean said “tell me you didn’t make a deal.” Little did I know what was coming aHA

My heart is breaking for Sam ahhHHHHH

I think this is hitting Sam so hard because first of all it’s Jack, but also because he doesn’t have a task to instantly bury himself in. So he has to think about it and confront it and because of that he’s about to snap. I just want to hug him please

OHH CAS HAS TEARS IN HIS EYES STAHP

how are Sam and Dean not dead if they’re drinking enough to get Cas tipsy?

The smiles. Somehow it hurts worse.

If there comes a day that the sight of TFW eating nougat candies to mourn Jack doesn’t make me sob, there is something seriously wrong with me.

Slightly bummed we missed out on the SamCas convo where they decided to call Lily Sunder

Dean is hella hungover and it’s actually kinda funny in this emotionally draining episode. Kudos, Jensen.

Jack’s heaven being the road trip to dodge city. Kill me now.

Jack running from the Empty... the sludge really does look like the s15 title card. I wonder if that’ll come back to haunt us.

KELLYYYYYYYY

Courtney and Alex really slayed this scene didn’t they. I’m crying so much

“I grew up” JACK SWEETIE STOP

Jack and Kelly holding hands... that hug... more mother and son time please I’m begging I love them

I really appreciate the framing of this shot with Sam and Cas on one side and Dean on the other.

See, Dean, you were on board with the soul magic plan eventually so you can’t be mad about it later. Except you were. What’s wrong with this picture?

“Don’t you think Jack should decide that for himself?” YESS CAS LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK

sAm please you’re killing me

Cas is so happy to see Dumah. That’s kind of breaking me.

Naomi, I still kinda hate you for torturing Cas.

“I know him. This is where he’ll be.” CAS KNOWS HIS SON FAM IM CRYINGGGGG

“I’m not going anywhere.” KELLY MA’AM YOU DESERVE THE SUN AND THE STARS AND THE WHOLE UNIVERSE

this is literally my favorite Dadstiel hug HOW DID I FORGET CAS’S LAUGH OF PURE JOY

JACK’S FACE WATCHING CAS AND KELLY HUG

“I failed you.” “You didn’t. Jack- he’s wonderful.” “Yeah.” CAN YALL HEAR ME SOBBING

Cas looks like he’s going to cry from pride in Jack. I can’t do this why did I think rewatching this ep was a good idea?

A moment of appreciation for how Cas lays out the facts of the situation and lets Jack make his own decision.

“He’s our kid!” Sam, I’m dead on the floor now. Thanks.

Lily, ily.

Cas is still so happy to see Dumah I’m so sad. Get Cas angel buddies pleaseeee he still loves them so much

Erica Cerra is TERRIFYING as the Empty go off queen

Cas and Kelly being protective of their son

“Take me, in his stead. Take me.” First time I’m watching this without crying. Personal growth, I guess

Cas is so scared of dying and the Empty and yet he’d go for Jack in a heartbeat. I can’t do this anymore

“Why did you do that?” “Because I made a promise. And because I love you, Jack.” CRYING IN THE CLUB

Again, Cas laying out the situation and waiting for Jack to make his own choice. Bless him.

“I won’t tell them. I promise.” Jack HONEY

Kelly and Jack’s goodbye... like she’s sending him off to school... I can’t DO THIS

FACE SQUISH

Is Jack fluent in Enochian, or did they write out pronunciations for him?

Sam is rubbing Jack’s arm to comfort him I’m SOFT

I do love this Dean and Jack hug. Jack’s lil smile. Bless.

Robbed of a Sam and Jack hug, but they’re still so soft. I can feel the love oozing from Sam so much rn

Awww I’m so glad Lily gets to be with her daughter now

Is Jack wearing Dean’s robe?

CAS’S FACE WATCHING JACK I CAN’T

SAM’S FACE TOO HOLY

IM DECEASED

I love the way the camera just pulled away at the end after they toasted. Happy family.

Anyway 10/10 episode. It hurts but it slaps.

[bibliophileiz]

The Spear Rewatch Notes

So I missed the season finale of Supernatural because I was out of the country, but now I’m back and have had some time to watch it and my thoughts are thus:

- First scene -- Garth is a dad and Michael’s new vessel is perfection.

- The cereal scene is really cute. - Thematically, I actually find Cas and Jack’s relationship really boring -- I know that’s an unpopular opinion, but Jack’s relationship with Sam is more interesting than his dynamic with Cas and Cas’ parental feelings toward Jack are fascinating primarily in that they’re at least partially rooted in Cas’ loyalty to Kelly, which I don’t think the show explores enough. And I feel like the pair-offs this season have been Cas + Jack (and once Dean + Jack, which was great) and Sam + Dean instead of the more interesting pairings of Jack + Sam and Dean + Cas, which is what we got this episode. But I do like this cereal scene for a number of reasons. - This is the scene where Jack realizes that Cas not only gave up his soul for him, he also gave up his happiness. Both Cas’ deal and his refusal to tell Sam and Dean about it mean he’s going to be in this state of perpetual loneliness. I do think Cas thinks his death is a long way off -- he probably is expecting Sam and Dean to die first, the logic being that the Empty wants Cas miserable and being without Sam and Dean will make Cas miserable. Unlike Jack, Cas has a frame of reference for just how long an angel can live compared to humans -- which is going to come up later in this episode in Jack’s scene with Michael, which is also amazing. - (This isn’t to say that I don’t think Cas’ deal will come back to bite him in the course of the show, because I do think that. I just don’t think Cas thinks that.) - “Did you take the decoder ring out of the box?” “Maybe.”

- Another thing I find fascinating about this episode is the subtle but persistent opposition of Sam’s sense of caution and Dean’s borderline manic optimism. The first scene with Sam, he’s worrying about Garth and Dean’s just like, “He’ll be fine” -- even though Garth will absolutely NOT be fine if he thinks he’s going to outsmart Michael with a trick that didn’t even work on his mom. And Dean’s just like, ��no biggie, we’ll get him’ which is an attitude he carries all episode, even when Jack gets kidnapped and Michael melts the egg. 

- Also I will give you a hundred dollars if you can give me a good reason why Ketch is still in this show.

- Who is the backwards cap teen werewolf, and why is Robert Berens so obsessed with awkward teen intern monsters? (There’s an intern demon in the episode where the guys rescue Linda Tran from Crowley’s prison, an episode which I’m pretty sure Berens also wrote. It makes me think Berens likes this kind of character.)

- So Michael obviously doesn’t bother sending monsters to get Kaia’s spear because he knows Dean’s going to get it. I did it.

-”When was the last time we had a big, no-strings-attached win like that?” Cas, don’t you feel BAD? - He just doesn’t want to tell Dean about his deal with the Empty because the last time Cas pissed off an all-powerful cosmic being in a way that would get him killed in the near future, Dean didn’t speak to him for a week. - I actually don’t like this scene that much though. Dean’s monologue about wanting to kill Michael needs more weight and more room to breathe-- some pauses, some dramatic music, a little more time which we could have had if you cut the Ketch scene that was drawn out for no reason. - Oh, well, at least Dean and Cas are getting their date finally this season.

- Likewise, the scene between Michael and Sam needed to be heavier, more drawn out. I want Michael to actually be worried about Sam, about how successfully Sam has coordinated and trained the apocalypse hunters from Michael’s world. I want there to be some sense of long-expected meeting, instead of it just looking like Michael bumped into Sam in the post office parking lot and decided to throw him into a van. - Seriously, do you have any idea how long I’ve been WAITING for their one-on-one? (I mean, since the end of Season 13, but still.) - I super want Sam to be the one to kill Michael. Dean killed Lucifer, Sam should get to kill Michael. Also, I like the idea of the brothers killing each other’s tormentors.

- Scene with Kaia is excellent and not just because I’m obsessed with the character. - Her introduction is great -- I’m such a sucker for the girl appearing out of nowhere and threatening a dude with a weapon. (Chalk it up to Arwen in The Lord of the Rings or Jane Barnet in Swashbuckler.) - DarkKaia music theme!! - Dean’s acting like he has a bit more respect for her than he has the last two times he meets her, but he still lies to her face. I’m a Dean girl and all, but I am going to enjoy watching Kaia kick Dean’s ass when she finds out Jack can’t get her back to the Bad Place. - Also you can tell Cas thinks lying to Kaia is a bad idea but he doesn’t want to say anything while Kaia’s got a spear pointed at Dean. Instead he tries to manage the damage on the front end by pointing out Kaia’s withholding things from them. He’s got a lot more emotional intelligence than he used to. - Maybe DarkKaia has a DarkClaire she needs to protect in the Bad Place. - She doesn’t, if she did she wouldn’t have tried to kill original flavorClaire.

- Cas: Sam, don’t you go in there alone.  Sam: I know. *immediately goes in there alone*

- The scene between Michael and Jack is amazing. (TBH, the second half of this episode is better than the first half, which is also kind of typical of Robert Berens. It’s like he just kills time before the high-stakes climax, and said climax is so good it makes you forget the rest of the episode may have only been meh.) - WHO IS PLAYING MICHAEL, SHE’S SO GOOD. According to IMDb, her name is Felisha Terrell and she doesn’t appear to be in the next episode. Fuck you, Supernatural, you’re going to bring Mark Pellegrino back and not this goddess? - Seriously though, she’s really good, I don’t understand how she doesn’t have more credits on IMDb. Maybe she’s more of a stage actress? - She manages to deliver her lines in this scene with a mixture of casualness and gravitas that really nails the topic of the passage of time and how it changes family and loyalties. - If the cereal scene is Jack understanding what Cas lost by making the deal to bring Jack back, then this scene is Jack understanding what HE lost by coming back. As an all-powerful being with archangel grace in his veins, he was bound to be all but immortal anyway, and now he’s using Enochian magic to keep his body functioning -- magic that kept someone who was constantly using it and burning up her soul to do different spells alive for more than 100 years. Imagine how long it’s going to keep Jack alive when he’s not using it for any spells other than keeping his body working and when he’s eventually not even going to need it for that because his grave will naturally regenerate. - Jack told Dean that he wanted to live his life spending more time with his family and then die when that life was over -- now he’s realizing that time will be long after the rest of his family (including Castiel if Michael has his way, it sounds like) is already dead. Long enough that Kelly, Sam and Dean will become just a tiny percentage of his life.  - Of course what Cas knows and Michael DOESN’T know is that longevity doesn’t equal loyalty, or Cas wouldn’t have chosen Dean even after Naomi’s constant reprogramming. - Anyway, Felisha Terrell may be my favorite thing about this episode.

- Love the return of Hair Werewolf and Overly Zealous Intern Werewolf. - Also love the return of Sam Motherfucking Winchester, who takes out even the werewolf who had advance notice he was coming, because he’s Sam Motherfucking Winchester. (Something else Berens does great.) - Can Sam rescue Jack all the time? That really is my favorite of Jack’s relationships.

- Did anyone else think the scene spent a weird amount of time emphasizing Jack’s injury by Garth and Cas’ healing of it? Is Cas’ grace used to heal Jack going to make Jack able to use some of his powers next episode? - Seriously, there was so much time spent on that that I was afraid Jack was about to turn into a werewolf. (Which would have been so dumb, I’m glad they didn’t do that.)

- Fidgety Michael is something I find fascinating. I don’t think we’ve ever seen an angel fidget before. - Michael is so obsessed with these guys knowing his plan/seeing it all play out. He’s the biggest drama queen in this show. (Sorry Crowley.) -  I don’t really understand what Michael says to Cas in the scene where he’s beating him up though. -”You got it.” “I sure did.” He was counting on you getting it, stupid. - I love, love, love how Sam sliding the spear across the floor to Dean is a parallel to Sam throwing the archangel blade to him during his battle with Lucifer in Season 13 (about the only good part of that battle, tbh).

- I guess no one was surprised Michael possessed Dean again. - When Kaia finds out Michael broke her spear, she’s going to kick his ass too. - Also, can we appreciate Michael’s level of drama? He starts his Scotch in one vessel and then finishes it in another. That’s some Extra shit right there. Somewhere in the Empty Crowley’s wishing he’d thought of that.

Overall thoughts: Not the best episode but not the worst either. Ringing endorsement, I know. I just felt it had a lot of potential that it didn’t tap into because it was too busy giving Ketch an unnecessary scene (What would have been wrong with Sam grumbling, “Ketch put the egg in the mail” like in every other episode this season?) and spending a lot of time on Intern Werewolf and other, more boring werewolves when it should have been building the tension in scenes like the one between Michael and Sam, which felt a little rushed and flat.

That said, I loved the new Michael and pretty much all Jack’s scenes were good. And since it looks like there’s going to be some trapping of Michael and some invading of Dean’s head, maybe the high-stakes emotional character stuff is all going to come next episode. I want Michael taunting Cas and Sam about how they’ve failed Dean, Jack doing some rescuing of his own, and Dean being pissed off that Michael changed his clothes again. I also want Mary and Sister Jo to save Kansas City and for Garth to puke up the angel grace and be totally fine and home in time to spend Christmas with his daughter.  

[ladylilithprime]

33 - Sastiel

33. Kiss in a dream

Part One

KNOWING THAT YOU are dreaming when you are dreaming is a rare occurrence for humans. For Sam Winchester, it happened every night ever since the Apocalypse when Lucifer began stalking his dreams and that shift of perception never quite went away. Sometimes he wondered if that ability to perceive when he was dreaming had contributed along with the hallucinations to his frequent doubting of reality when awake, but it was never enough of a concern to bring up. He promised himself that if it reached the point where he was having visions of the future in his dreams again, he would bite the silver-and-iron bullet and tell Dean, but his brother had enough to worry about after Purgatory without yet more drama from his failure of a burdensome little brother.

“Sam.”

This dream wasn’t anything special, not like the dreams he had of the Cage or other problematic memories that he was unable to shove aside and ignore while sleeping. It almost looked like a scene out of one of the Jurassic Park movies with its lush, dense tropical forest and a few strange birds gliding from tree to tree. It was surprisingly peaceful as far as his dreams went, even if he couldn’t remember when he might have encountered a scene like this enough to have recalled the sounds so clearly.

“Samuel.”

Sam turned at the more insistent pronouncement of his name, shivering at the Enochian intonations threading through that powerful voice, and his eyes landed on the by now familiar glowing figure with wings of azure and violet light. The greeting he meant to give Castiel died on his lips, however, when the figure seemed to compress and waiver under his gaze. He frowned. “Quit that.”

The figure went still, head angled in that familiar tilt of curiosity as seven blue orbs flickered in rapid succession like a furry of blinking. “Sam...?”

“Quit trying to project Jimmy Novak,” he said. When Castiel’s wings flared open in surprise, Sam gestured around them at the prehistoric landscape. “It’s not like you’re going to burn out anyone’s eyes here, Cas.”

“Physical harm is not the only kind I would seek to spare you,” Castiel said uncomfortably, his voice carrying a more noticeable echo of rumbling thunder and jarring cries of a hundred falcons screaming to the skies. Sam raised an eyebrow at the angel pointedly and Castiel relented, unfolding from the compressed state he - she? they? it? - had been attempting to fold into.

“I know you’re probably used to us calling you a guy because of your vessel, but is there a set of pronouns you’d prefer to use like this?” Sam asked curiously as he watched the unfolding. It was like looking at a bird hatching from an egg and an octopus swimming through coral, and yet completely unlike either one. The great head separated into seven separate heads, each with its own blue orb-like eye, which bobbed and twisted and wove around and sometimes through each other despite keeping one eye facing towards Sam at all times. The wings, too, were separating out from two mostly-distinct wing-forms into several dozen separate wings fanning open and folding together into new configurations that his eyes couldn’t even begin to track reliably even as the body lengthened and limbs formed and split and shifted until Castiel seemed to settle, half-twined around two massive trees with two of the seven heads sliding together and lowering so that Castiel could look at Sam with two glowing eyes.

“You may continue thinking of me as male,” the angel said seriously. One long and tapered limb that Sam thought might have been a tail swept around to settle between them close to Sam’s feet; Sam  kept his eyes on the two Castiel had focused on him at the moment rather than glance down at the tail. “My time Falling had imprinted a certain level of gender identity onto my Grace that is in alignment with Jimmy Novak’s physical form. Jimmy is at peace in Heaven, ever since Raphael exploded me at the beginning of the Apocalypse.”

“Sorry about that,” Sam said, wincing at the reminder and finding it much easier now to look down and study Castiel’s tail. Up close, the limb was still overwhelmingly white, but also threaded with a multitude of shades of purple and blue, soft skin that graduated into scales which in turn sprouted silky-looking fur and then plumes of soft feathers in a line down what might have been considered the spinal track. “...You’re beautiful, Cas. It’s kinda hard to really see you out there, as bright as you glow all the time, but you are. Beautiful.”

“As are you, Sam,” Castiel answered, even as those massive, multifaceted wings shifted and flashed at the edges of Sam’s vision. “Even with the damage from Lucifer which I could not heal, your soul is... radiant beyond belief.” There was a hesitation, then Castiel added more quietly, “The guilt from seeing the damage I failed to heal is... troublesome at times. I know that I do not deserve your forgiveness for my part in the infliction of that damage, but I would offer you my apologies nonetheless.”

“Accepted and forgiven,” Sam said immediately, looking up at Castiel as the angel jerked backwards and all seven heads swivelled around to align themselves so that Castiel could stare wide-eyed directly at Sam with his full attention. “Castiel, I have never blamed you for the damage done to my soul. Never. Even when the hallucinations got so bad that it was killing me, I knew who to blame for my deteriorating state, and it was never you.” He bit his lower lip, looking up from beneath the fall of his hair. “Is... that why you ran before?”

“Ran... oh,” Castiel’s heads split again, leaving only two eyes to look at Sam once more as the others shifted and ducked and looked elsewhere. “When you reached for me, I was too surprised at first by the realization that you could See me, not just my vessel. And then you healed me of Naomi’s latest efforts to repurpose me--”

“Is that what those cracks were?” Sam couldn’t help but ask, blushing when Castiel’s eyes narrowed and his wings quivered faintly with the echoes of rustling leaves and wind-stirred chimes.

“It was,” the angel confirmed. “Naomi was not aware that you can see my true form or have the ability to utilize your soul to heal the damage as you did, or I doubt she would have permitted me to go to you. As it is, you broke through her control in time for me to prevent the deaths of several angels, for which I am also grateful to you.”

“Oh,” Sam said, blinking a little. He wasn’t sure how to feel about that. “So when you kissed me right before you flew off, that was... a thank you?”

“In part,” Castiel admitted, wings curving inwards. “It was also because... I have admired your strength and compassion and the beauty of your soul for some time, Sam, and when you healed me and utilized the power of your soul to do so.... I could not help myself. I--”

“Don’t!” Sam interrupted. He swallowed when Castiel flinched back and shook his head. “Don’t apologize, not for that.” Castiel may not have had human features to express emotion, but his body language (strange and fantastical as it was) still managed to do a decent job of conveying the angel’s dismay and skepticism. “Really, if you ever decide you want to do it again, I would be more than okay with that.”

“I see,” Castiel hummed. His tail twitched, curling like the end of a cat’s tail, and Sam bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. “I believe that may be somewhat problematic given your insistence that I retain my true form in your dream.”

“Well, we can work with that,” Sam said, feeling something that could easily have passed for a stutter in his heartbeat. He thought he might even have been grinning as he lifted both hands and beckoned. “Bring one of your faces down here a moment?”

Castiel’s eyes blinked in asynchronous order, but the angel obliged, lowering the two heads currently aligned together down close to where Sam stood. Gingerly, Sam stepped over the tail and right up close to the angel, gently touching his hands to the smooth and glowing white surface before leaning forward and nuzzling his face into what felt like velvet glass, smooth and cool and soft and tingling along the edges as he pressed a soft, open-mouthed kiss beneath and between Castiel’s incredible blue orbs. This close, Sam could even make out the folds of reptilian eye shields coming together and parting again as Castiel blinked. Sam smiled softly as he drew back again, one hand lingering on the approximate zone of Castiel’s gigantic cheek.

“You can get a more human-type kiss when I wake up,” Sam promised.

[wingsoverbros]

“Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets - I’ve got some reassurances” or “My thoughts on SPN 12.10″

For previous episodes: 12.01 - 12.02 - 12.03 - 12.04 - 12.05 - 12.06 - 12.07 - 12.08 - 12.09

Now, on to Supernatural 12.10 - " Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets"

(The above men are not one of her regrets, luckily. They wouldn’t be mine either.)

In the hiatus between season 11 and 12, we got news that many of our favorite writers from SPN, both established and new, were leaving to pursue other opportunities. Andrew Dabb, the new show-runner, began cherry-picking his new crop of writers and the fans that looked into them reported that they looked promising. That was helpful, but we still waited nervously to see how they would fair. We've now covered almost half the season and most of the writers have gotten around 2 episodes each, give or take, and I must say that Steve Yockey is in the front-running for my new favorite writer.

It's a tall order, as my favorites have been (in turn) Ben Edlund and Robbie Thompson, and both left some mighty big shoes to fill. However, Yockey is doing a phenomenal job at writing well-balanced episodes with plenty of story and an excellent grasp of both new and established characters. I look forward to any additional stories he writes with anticipation. He can share the “Oh, he’s writing it? Goody!” reaction I often get when I hear of Robert Berens writing an episode (he’s my other favorite).

I loved how much new and confirmed info we got in this episode. I'd wondered in the past why Cas automatically assumed Samandiriel was dead in season 8, and considering that Crowley was first shown using an Angel blade that season, wondered if perhaps the blades had some form of identifying mark on them. How do they ensure that each angel gets his own blade back after fights? Maybe their names written in enochian on the hilt? However it's marked, this episode confirmed that an angel can identify a blade's owner from the knife itself. I also enjoyed the fact that there at least 2 angels in the episode shown in vessels that ran counter to their stated pronoun. Any angel that's able to befriend a human and attempts to do anything in its power to protect that friend is n angel that goes on my "good guy" list, and I'm actually sad that we didn't get to see more of Benjamin than we saw in the episode. Considering how sad his death made Cas, he must have been at least a half-ways decent guy.

I liked that we got to see what an angel summoning entails. Frankly, I always just thought it was a simple matter of them just talking like normal, so the fact that they have to activate it via a ritual was interesting. It makes sense, though. You don't want to accidentally just start chattering over Angel Radio without meaning to. I also just figured a battalion of angels were simply called "a battalion", and angels in a group were simply called "a choir". So, how does it go, then? From lowest to highest: A Flight, A Garrison, A Choir, The Host? (Do you think we can someday get a graph? And for that matter, what titles are used for groups of Demons? I'd like to see both info-graphics.)

Some unanswered questions remain, though. For a highly-controlled, militaristic society, Heaven seems incredibly permissive and rather porous. Angels weren't supposed to be on Earth for 2000 years, but any old angel could come down to Earth and hang out without attracting attention? Besides Gabriel, we now have documented cases of Ishim, Akobel, Anna, and Uriel (in “The Song remains the Same”). The last one was quickly intercepted by Michael, but how many others came down and slummed around without the rest of them realizing it? And how many of them pair up with other beings in a friendly or romantic relationship? It seems to be a fair number. Besides Lily and her friend and Cas and the Winchesters, we've also seen Gabriel and Kali (romantic), Abner and his vessel's wife (although she didn't know, so this one is slightly dubious), and Jane's parents (at least sexual, if nothing else). Daniel and Adina in season 10 also gave me a "romantic involvement" vibe.

This does point towards Jane's parent possibly being an unknown lower-level angel, and considering that none of the 1900s group questioned the identification of the child in the episode as human, that angels can't automatically detect the creation of a lower-level angel nephilim.

When we first received spoilers that the episode would involve scenes of Castiel from the past, fans peculated on many various possibilities, from scenes that fit within past episodes involving long-gone angels (I'm still sad there wasn't any Gabriel in the scenes like a lot of people hoped for) to shots of Cas in previous vessels. What we got was not anything like what I expected in the early days, but I loved what we got. Most of the speculation was of Cas in a Novak ancestor that looked like Jimmy, but Yockey decided to give the viewers an unexpected surprise by having Cas in a female vessel. I have to admit it, I squealed. She looked perfect, down to the "sunday best" dress and trenchcoat-like jacket. And although he's been in Jimmy for far longer then any other vessel, duration-wise, now it's canon that Cas has been in female vessels more often then male ones. I can't wait to see the resulting fanfic.

Seeing how cold and focused 1900's Cas was really put a focus on how much Cas has changed in the last 8 years, too. Exposure the the Winchesters has worn off so much of his soldier exterior, his other-worldliness. Although I believe that to be (mostly) to his benefit, I can see why so many of the other angels would look at Cas as different, no longer completely an angel. For a species that lives for billions of years, unchanging and static, the sight of someone just like them changing so dramatically in such a short time is bound to be incredibly disturbing. And it's not just Cas, it's all the angels that come in long-term contact with humans (think about it. Anna? Gabe? Balthazar? Gadreel? Metatron? Daniel and Adina? Not to mention the rogues that we haven't been told about, since angels could apparently come to earth at will even before the Apocalypse started. All dramatically and irreversibly changed by contact with humanity that lasted even for only lasted a short time). No wonder they view humanity as incredibly corrosive. I wonder what Ishim was like before he came in contact with (and obsessed by) Lily. He had to have some sort of good point, unless "good soldier" Cas was just blind to all faults originally. (I wonder too if Naomi's monkeying with his mind ever caused him to overlook bad behavior in other angels?)

One change I did really appreciate a well was that Cas seems to have regained his ability to defend himself when Dean goes a bit overboard. I always prefer the Cas that has a bit of self-esteem to the Cas who is utterly depressed. Cas (usually) has good reasons for what he does, and he deserves the right and ability to defend himself from the sarcasm and arguments that usually ensue whenever Dean doesn't agree with what happened. I also found it amusing that he seems to now be using a nearly identical response to the situation as Dean does, all snarky sarcasm and the silent treatment. With Cas and Dean engaged in mutual "Sam, tell *fill in the blank here* to pass the coffee..." sessions and snark fights, I can only really feel sorry for poor Sam, caught in the middle of a fighting couple in tight quarters. We should probably start a fund to get Sam a survival pack: a stress ball, anti-heartburn meds, a good set of headphones, and a trip someplace beachy for a week. He looked like he needed it this episode.

I do love that even 1900 Cas was snarky, btw. Season 4 Cas being a smartass to Uriel in that deleted scene from "Heaven and Hell" is still one of my all-time favorite clips from Supernatural.

(Side note: Misha's been Cas for 8 years. Nearly a decade. He was initially hired for just 3 episodes. Let that sink in for a moment... ok, moving on.)

Dean has been a snarky passive-aggressive guy all season. Normally, this would annoy me, but as it seems to be how he reacts to both Mary and Cas both, I'm willing to go with it. He used a few funny lines, and I appreciate that he actually explained to Cas at the end of the episode why he was being so grumpy about what happened to Billie in "First Blood". I can take one of my favorites being snotty at my top favorite, as long as it's addressed and at least worked on in the episode. The fact that the snarky responses towards Cas went on the back burner as soon as someone else started being a twerp to Cas also helped. It gave Dean's responses in the episode a protective "no one can snark at him but me" vibe. Cas is clearly family to Dean, no matter what anyone around them says.

I was not expecting to find the supposed villain of the piece so relatable . Lily was stated in the press release as a woman who practiced black magic and was out to slaughter Cas, so I expected to find her to be a fairly stock villain character. That was so not what we got. (And who writes the press releases, anyway? The release and the episode barely resembled each other.)

In "In Memory of Asa Fox", Yockey's previous episode, he was able to write both established and brand-new female characters with skill. He handled Mary, Jody and Billie with an expert hand, each being quite recognizable and perfectly in character. Likewise, his new characters (of both genders) were lovely beings that I look forward to seeing again, especially the Twins. (I loved that they were in "First Blood". I wonder if they'll be anywhere in the rest of the season as well.) Lily is not one I wish to see again, but that's solely due to the whole "return if you decide you have to kill me" thing. If she would give up the revenge thing, a century-old expert in all things angel would be a welcome addition to the new chapter of the American Men of Letters.

I liked that Lily was part of a story-line featuring a human and angel partnership that was intentionally undefined. They never definitively stated (that I caught) whether she and her angel bodyguard were involved or not, just that a jealous angel was spreading the rumor that they were and had done things against the rules. Angels seem to have been a rather gossipy bunch for ages. I wonder what the commentary around the angel cooler was about Dean and Cas over the years. Considering the commentary about Sam and Dean by Zachariah in season 5 and the "You *always* choose the Winchesters" bit from the angels in "Form and Void" last year, you know the commentary by the rest of them had to run the gamut from "the mud-monkeys are using Castiel like a tool and the moron is dumb enough to not see it" to "Oh, they're just buddies" to "I think they may have started sleeping together the minute they met". We know there's stories, several angels have already said (like Ambriel in "Devil in the Details” of season 11.)

Random observations:

I laughed at the fact that Benji was playing Rampage. It makes sense that a 1000 foot tall being constructed to fight and destroy evil (or whatever they label evil) would enjoy a game featuring enormous monsters that destroy buildings. Bet he liked "Wreck-it Ralph", too.

Ishim played "teenage hunter trio" Krissy's dad a few seasons back. They're recycling actors faster then normal.

Letting a human live after slaughtering everyone they love is anything but a mercy. It was that, before anything Lily said, that told me who the true villain was in the episode.

I liked that even as a bad-ass pre-season 4 soldier angel, Cas still flinched when the human child was killed. Even as a robot, Cas favored humanity.

I enjoyed the mentions of Uriel and Balthazar. (I miss Bal.)

Dean refused to banish Ishim because it might hurt Cas if he got booted. This is a considerable improvement to the banishments in season 5 and season 7. Dean deserves a cookie for this character growth. (or a beer. Whatever works.)

For the final minute of the episode, and the Winchester Family Angel Pep Talk, Sam also deserves a cookie (Dean can have a second one. For the pep talk and the "Cas is our family" comment.)

With his second episode being of such high quality, Steve Yockey has managed to take the lead for my position of best writer on SPN. His ability to both create great new characters, manage the development of our favorite existing characters, and tell entertaining and fast-paced stories gives me hope in the continuation of SPN as a entertaining show to watch. I hope he stays a while, and I can't wait to see where he and the show goes from here.

[shirtlesssammy]

8x07: A Little Slice of Kevin

You’re not misreading this. We’re recapping a Buckleming episode by choice! Is it a hot mess? Yep. But does it also have literal pining!Dean, gothic romance stormy night window visions, boner scenes, roadside confessions, and badass Cas? Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep.

Then:

Where’s the angel? Also, Mrs. Tran is a bit of a badass.

Now:

At a playground (!), a small boy makes a mess with paints so his teacher takes him to the bathroom to clean up. Her eyes flash black for a moment before the two disappear inside (literally). A windstorm suddenly blasts its way through the park revealing the now empty bathroom.

Meanwhile, Dean is cruising around in Baby in a pine forest (while listening to The Animals’ “We Gotta Get Out of This Place”. LOVE.) He sees a dirty, bedraggled Cas walking on the side of the road and slams on the breaks. Backtracking, he sees nothing.

Well, nothing but a literal sign indicating there’s multiple pining situations happening. Dean then gets. out. of. the. car. to stare forlornly at his surroundings.

Later, at the cabin, Sam finds a case --the missing boy/tornado from the cold open. He notices similar happenings all over the world. They guess demons but have no clue how any of it connects.

Crowley is peak evil demon while he tortures poor Samandriel out of names. It also seems that Sam and Dean were right about the missing people. Crowley has collected them all in his dystopian sci-fi factory.

Kevin and Mrs. Tran are on the run, and she has 1000% embraced the mother of a prophet gig. She’s making holy water traps, hex bags, salt barriers, and has even hired a witch to make demon bombs. (Sidenote: This scene is the only time I hear Amy Wong on this show.) They check in with Delta Mendota via Skype. *insert gross Buckleming innuendos* She’s ready to help and is in no way, shape, or form going to backstab these two.

The brothers interview the teacher of the little boy who disappeared.

Later that night, while Sam sleeps and Dean googles “how to save an angel from Purgatory”, lightning flashes and Cas suddenly appears outside the window. He’s gone just as soon as he appears. Dean rushes to the window and stares at the rain in disbelief.

Sam awakens and wonders what Dean is doing. Dean confesses to seeing Cas outside, and earlier on the side of the road.

Dean then starts to replay his time with Cas in purgatory, wondering why Cas didn’t try harder (while beating himself up for the same reason.) Before finding the portal, Cas pulls Dean aside and thanks him, “for everything.”

For Science:

(Like, ouch. It’s little moments like this that make me really feel the profound effect Dean has had on Cas. This human, of all humans over the course of Earth’s existence, made such a lasting change in this angel.) Dean “Save the Hallmark” Winchester refuses to even humor the idea of Cas not making it through the portal.

Crowley is having second thoughts about abducting all these people, who believe they were abducted by aliens.

He tries getting them to read the demon tablet, but they are hopeless.

Meanwhile, Delta arrives at the Tran hideout with the demon bomb materials. *insert more gross Buckleming innuendos*

The next morning, Sam is discovering more missing people, while Dean hangs out in that liminal world between worlds where Cas and him meet so often, the bathroom (Lol, I typed that thinking it was going to be a poetic line, but that just sounds dirty.)

“Hello, Dean.”

Cas appears, for real this time. I’m not sure Dean’s eyes could pop out any further from his head.

Cut to Sam being all chatty and questioning about Cas’s return from Purgatory, while Dean continues to stand and stare in utter disbelief. Cas has been trying to reach out but hasn’t been at full power (Ahem, at this moment I would like to point out that the brothers still have the Enochian warding on their ribs and shouldn’t be detectable by angels. How strange that Cas can still find Dean though.) Cas has no explanation as to how he got out. Dean flashes back to their final moments in purgatory.

I love this exchange:

Benny: Aren't you guys all about faith? Castiel: Not particularly

Benny’s soul gets sucked into Dean’s arm via a spell, and Dean and Cas head for the portal. They find the portal at last, led to it by the delicate dance of a leaf. I love this! It's so pretty.

Leviathan arrive.

In the present time, Dean and Sam discuss the improbability of Cas being back with them, while Cas cleans up in the bathroom.

A story told in two gifs:

I mean, what the actual fuck, show? 

Meanwhile Linda Tran continues to be my favorite, chewing out the witch Delta for trying to change their deal. Suddenly Kevin comes running in. The salt line's been brushed away from the bathroom windowsill! Enter Crowley and a demon lackey, who were let in by Delta. Crowley zaps away with Kevin and orders the other demon to kill Linda. But Linda is ready!

Sam and Dean are busy tracking more demon omens. Sam lists out the names of the missing people and Castiel recites along and then completes it (as he watches TV). Damn it, Cas, stop being adorable. STAHP. 

Turns out, those are names of the prophets and they're written on the subway wall in Castiel's mind. Just like slayers, there's only one active prophet and the rest are potential prophets, who get activated when a prophet dies. There's a brief mention here of Chuck. The idea is set forth that Chuck died, thereby activating Kevin. (Chuck you got some 'splaining to do!) Their prophet talk is interrupted by a call from Linda Tran, asking for help.

In Crowley's latest dank industrial hideout, he swans around the table of prophets and bullies Kevin. If the other potential prophets can't do anything to interpret the tablet, they can at least die for it. Crowley brutally kills one of the women when Kevin refuses to translate the tablet, dousing Kevin with blood.

Elsewhere, Dean, Sam, and Castiel wait on a lonely highway for Linda to show up. With nothing more exciting to do, Dean flashes back to Purgatory again. They're fighting the leviathans and it's sharp and brutal and hard. Just barely, they manage to defeat them. Dean steps into the portal and reaches for Cas. They grasp hands, Dean trying to pull Castiel along with him, but the pull of the portal is too strong. Castiel slips from Dean's grasp as Dean zaps away from Purgatory. Dean jolts back to the present and asks Cas to step out of the car to talk. Dean shouts at Cas that he did all he could to get him out. He didn't leave Cas. HE DIDN'T, DAMN IT! Cas squints at him. “So you think this was...your fault?” (Me: Oh my lord these two are bad at words.)

Their confrontation is interrupted by the arrival of Linda who shows them the demon she has in her trunk. It's demon interrogation time!

Speaking of interrogation, Kevin's tied to a chair in Crowley's weird industrial dungeon. With no answers, Crowley chops off one of Kevin's fingers. After screaming in agony, Kevin agrees to read the tablet. He skims through the table of contents for things such as the “collective tapestry of the soul” and “demonic transport to the regions of hell.” (I love this.)

The Winchester-mobile and Linda drive off to Crowley's mysterious industrial pit. Sam cuffs Linda to the car (SAM) and Dean kills the demon in the trunk. Then they head for the compound.

While Crowley casually blows a pinwheel, Kevin discovers a section about sealing the gates of Hell. NOW Crowley is interested.

Sam, Dean, and Cas infiltrate the plant. Sam heads inside and encounters a ton of demons. He pulls out a jar and chucks it at the ground. It explodes and blasts away the demons. There goes their one demon bomb. Meanwhile, Dean and Cas get waylaid by a solitary demon, who knocks the crap out of Dean with a telekinetic blow. Castiel smites the demon, but staggers immediately afterward. His power is super low.

They find a locked door – behind which is Crowley - and while Dean tries to pick the lock, Cas flaps his way into the room alone. Crowley greets him with, “Which Castiel is it this time? I'm never sure. Madman or megalomanic?” They both pull out angel blades and when Crowley scoffs and questions Castiel's power, Cas goes full on angel. His eyes glow blue and he unfurls his wings. “You're bluffing,” Crowley shouts.

“You wanna take that chance?” Castiel asks (and I pause to fan myself). The tablet breaks in two, and Crowley grabs half of it and zaps away.

The next day, Sam bids farewell to Mrs. Tran and Kevin. He's sending them off to Garth. (Yessss I want to watch that show.)

While Sam and the Trans are off having semi-adult conversations, Dean flips out at Castiel, berating him for heading in alone. “Look, I don't need to feel like hell for failing you, okay? For failing you like I've failed every other godforsaken thing that I care about! I don't need it!” OUCH. There are no underlying issues here AT ALL.

Castiel tells him that it wasn't Dean's fault that Cas got left behind. Cas intended to stay behind in Purgatory to do penance. He tells Dean to reexamine the memory. Instead of Cas desperately trying to hang on, Cas actually pushed Dean away and told him to leave. He didn't want to be saved. “I didn't deserve to be out. And I saw that clearly when I was there. I planned to stay all along. I just didn't know how to tell you. You can't save everyone, my friend. Though you try.” GUH CAS

Sam interrupts because, of course. And then suddenly the world disappears and Cas finds himself in a white room. “Hello, Castiel,” a woman in a neat gray suit says. She tells him that he's in Heaven and asks him about Sam and Dean. Castiel immediately spills all the beans EVERYWHERE like a firehose of bean soup.

“Why am I telling you any of this?” he grits out. The woman in the suit is the angel Naomi and she orders Castiel to report on the Winchesters' comings and goings. The angels saved him from Purgatory and reprogrammed him for this one purpose. Castiel refuses, but is powerless to resist her as she zaps him back to the conversation with Sam and Dean. He looks confused, but doesn't remember a thing. Not long afterwards Cas walks off, looking unsettled, leaving a very perturbed Dean behind.

Boris: This post by @elizabethrobertajones makes me very happy.

Quotus Interruptus:

I hired a witch off of Craigslist

You know the rules. Casual encounters. That means no questions asked.

Are we on a spaceship?

I lie, I don't get lied to.

You can't save everyone, my friend. Though you try.

I was going to say that you look like you’ve seen a ghost, but you’d probably be stoked.

This hurts you more than it hurts me, so I can go on forever.

Thank you, for everything.

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive! 

[bibliophileiz]

Going through my drafts, I found a post of myself liveblogging “Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets” from when I started (but never finished) a Steve Yockey rewatch last summer. So here you go if you want to read it.

Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets

And all the deancas shippers said, “Amen.”

Directed by Thomas J. Wright and featuring the adorable Alicia Witt as the Kill Bill-inspired titular character, “Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets” is just a 42-minute long old married couple fight interspersed with the coolest angels have been since Season 4. Yes, Steve, I will take more of this, thank you.

(Guys, I’m really gonna miss Steve Yockey next season.) (Note from April of this year: I am DEFINITELY missing Steve Yockey this season. Although Meredith Glynn’s still fab.)

We open on an arcade where an attractive woman is playing games and ignoring the employee telling her he’s about to close up shop. Enter another attractive woman, this one with red hair and an eyepatch, who starts trolling our first hottie. The first thing I notice is that the dialogue is less snappy in this scene than at any time during “Celebrating the Life of Asa Fox” so I’m just going to look at these ladies instead.

Tired of Eye-Patch’s trolling, Arcade Gamer starts to leave, only for Eye-Patch to keep blocking her way. The next exchange is delightfully testosterone-fueled.

“Move out of my way.” “Or what?” “Or I will move you.” “Go ahead. Try.” I feel like I’m watching the two jocks from Heathers.

Arcade Gamer tries to do something magical, but it doesn’t work, as Eye-Patch tells “Benjamin” -- who is not a dude, but an angel (as Cas will later tell us.) What follows next is kind of a boring fight, but the music is pretty good.

Eye-Patch (oh, who are we kidding, it’s Lily) pins Benjamin to the wall and tells him to call his angel friends. Benjamin starts speaking in Enochian and it apparently gets the attention of Castiel, Ishim and whoever the other angel this ep is (I forget) because we get some interesting shots of them all looking at the ceiling. Anyway, Lily kills Benjamin and leaves the arcade like a boss.

I really don’t want to narrate this whole episode, so I’m just going to make sarcastic notes like I did for my “Asa Fox” post.

Bunker scene (Part 1)

I do legitimately want to know: How did Kelly drop off the map? I mean, she’s not a spy, she’s a presidential aide. She has reporters who know her personally and follow her around. This would be like if Josh Lyman just disappeared one day in The West Wing. 

(The whole president plot this season drives me nuts. There is literally no reason that Jack’s biological human father needs to be the president or that Kelly needs to work directly with the president, and there are so many other ways to get Dean and Sam locked up in a secret government base. This whole dumb fucking convoluted plot where the Winchesters are arrested for trying to assassinate the president and no one ever finds out about it is one plot in this show that I actually can’t suspend my disbelief for.)

Also, I think someone pointed out when this episode first aired that there is no reason for Cas to be in the kitchen, because he doesn’t eat, meaning he was just in the kitchen to deliberately not talk to Dean in Dean’s presence.

Cas straight up flounces across Dean’s line of sight this scene, you work it, buddy.

They are so passive aggressive and bitchy, I’m just expecting them to turn to Sam and demand he settle their argument over the Monty Hall problem.

Car scene

Dean turns down the opportunity to listen to music in the car because he wants everyone to know how he’s deliberately not speaking to Cas.

“This Benjamin sounds pretty cool, like he wouldn’t make any half-cocked, knee-jerk choices.” “Yeah, you know what I like about him is that he’s sarcastic, but he’s thoughtful and appreciative.” “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Dean’s internal monologue as he veers into the wrong lane: Oh my God, we’re going to see Cas’ ex-boyfriend!!!

The devout nun who Benjamin would never put in unnecessary danger sounds like way more than a friend.

Cas lets out at least two beleaguered sighs in this scene alone.

Arcade scene

So angels can identify/contact each other by their blades now? What does that mean for all the human hunters with blades? 

Restaurant scene

“You, Castiel -- I liked the old you better.” Yeah, because you’re a dirty old man, Ishim.

(Mirabel, that’s the other angel’s name.)

“And you’re gonna storm in, riiiiiiiiiiggghht now.” God, I love Sam.

Dean “Feeling Left Out” Winchester sits down on Cas to let Ishim know he’s taken.

The actor who plays Ishim is Ian Tracey, and he plays a nice old man in The 100.

Ishim is such a racist he makes finger quotations when referring to Sam and Dean as “people.”

“Why do you let him talk to you like that?” says Dean, who says meaner things to Cas on a regular basis.

Dean just really doesn’t want to work with Cas’ other ex-boyfriend.

Ishim failing to smite Lily is super awesome. Girl has some badass angel powers.

Flashback Scene

Introducing Fem!Cas, which the fandom never got over.

I’m all for these angel ladies in turn-of-the-century dresses. 

THAT SAID, these angels seem to think the human mother could be alive after birthing a nephilim, which is ... not how the rest of this season plays out.

Akobel looks pretty shocked when Cas accuses him of banging a human. Also, apparently presumed innocent and trial by a jury of peers aren’t a thing with angels.

And not to get too out of this episode, but where is Naomi, and shouldn’t she be on Ishim’s ass for trying to shack up with a human??

It’s pretty cool that Lily’s a professor (and of such a badass subject!) in 1905, when most women weren’t even going to universities.

Back in the present, Cas is extremely pretty. These shots are just all his good side.

Ishim and Cas in the church

This scene is actually pretty sexy -- Cas gently removing parts of Ishim’s clothes, Ishim moaning and writhing as Cas heals him and then them both panting when it’s over. Good thing Dean was gone or he would have punched them.

Hotel scene

I get that Dean and Sam are trying to reason with Lily, but the whole “He was just following orders” doesn’t work on a grieving mother. It’s also generally a weak moral argument, and the fact that Sam and Dean (who disobey orders from Heaven they think are unjust all the time) are using it at all demonstrates how they’re thinking with their hearts and not their heads to save Cas. 

“Her name was May. And she was beautiful.” I just love the moms this season. (Mary, Lily, Kelly.)

Alicia Witt is honestly great. She’s so strong, but so fragile, so sad. 

Ishim, of course, is classic abuser/stalker (which Dean’s figuring out), and while that kind of villain is slightly more Meredith Glynn’s wheelhouse, this won’t be the last time Yockey will write about this kind of issue.

“I had my daughter long before I ever laid eyes on an angel,” is the kicker of the whole scene. “My daughter was human.”

And then Dean’s like, “oh fuck, gotta call Cas”

Also, did Ishim take Cas’ phone? Why can’t Cas find it?

And then Dean goes back to save Cas, because nobody messes with Dean’s husband but Dean, dammit!

(for some reason I didn’t finish the post, and I’m not turning off Lost Girl to watch a Supernatural episode right now, but just trust me, the end is great.)