Seriously, what is the point of throwing a Winchester through a window anymore? Dean bounced up after being tossed by Abaddon like he’d tripped over his own shoelace. Then again, Dean’s awesome.
The second episode of any given season has one primary job: don’t murder the premiere’s momentum. Keep things moving. Elevate our curiosity about what’s going to happen this season. “Devil May Care” accomplished that goal in a way that was both exciting and mundane. The setup of the episode was routine – fighting demons, killing demons, returning to the bunker with fried chicken – but everything that surrounded it has me hopeful for the best season of Supernatural yet. Twice during this episode the writers reminded us of their major story arcs: 2,000 angels have fallen, Abaddon is plotting to take over Hell while the demons scramble in Crowley’s wake, Castiel is human, and there are still monsters out there that need to be ganked. Plus Sam is inhabited by Ezekiel, whose motives appear wholesome but likely don’t line up with what Dean wants. That symbiotic relationship paid dividends in this episode as Ezekiel flexed Sam’s new wings and smote those soldier demons from the face of the Earth. It was an exciting sequence that has me pumped for what’s to come from angel Sam.
I was even onboard with Abaddon after seeing Alaina Huffman’s improved performance in this episode. I mentioned in my recap of the premiere (posted on my blog since I was on vacation when the episode aired) that I’ve never been a fan of Huffman’s work, but her new and improved Abaddon won me over. I’m scared of what she might do now. That unpredictably reminds me of Lillith, who as you’ll recall snapped an old man’s neck at the dinner table. I appreciated that “Devil May Care” got right into her new storyline, although I rolled my eyes a bit at seeing the new spell that can resurrect demon vessels. That bit felt especially forced since Abaddon chastised the other demons for having such wimpy meat suits.
Kevin turned a big corner in this hour as he was officially adopted into the Winchester family. In an awesome big brother moment for Dean, Kevin learned that he wasn’t just a research machine that Sam and Dean took for granted. The scenes Kevin had with Crowley did a lot to further develop his character, even if it was groan-inducing how easily he let Crowley get under his skin. Kevin’s kick-ass mom got a mention in this episode so you have to think we’ll be seeing Linda Tran (yeah, that’s her name) again this season. Dean intimated to Kevin that, if his mom is still alive, she’ll be dead on the inside. I think that’s selling the Tiger Mommy short. That woman is fierce.
While this week focused on demons, it appears next week will focus on the fallen angel storyline and Castiel struggling with his newfound humanity. This season has done a great job thus far juggling these new storylines and giving each one time to develop. With four major storylines going at once, I think we might actually see fewer standalone episodes this season. Granted, some of the show’s greatest hours have been standalone episodes. But it gets harder with each passing season to come up with those truly memorable story ideas. I don’t know if we have any more episodes like “The French Mistake” or “The Mystery Spot” coming after 150+ hours. I hope I’m wrong.
One final note: who else appreciated the callback to Sam opening Lucifer’s cage? We forget sometimes the enormity of Sam and Dean’s legacy with other hunters. I love seeing that and being reminded of the fact that these two chuckleheads we love so much are legendary hunters. I wouldn’t mind seeing more hunters pop up throughout this season. Supernatural could do with some universe expansion.
Line of the week
Sam: “That’s not going to help."
Dean: “It doesn’t hurt.”
Next week on Supernatural
Castiel eats toothpaste.
