SPN 5.20 - Episode Review
So, here I am slowly catching up with episode reviews few folks have interest in reading, this late. But I'm trying to recapture what I thought at the time of each viewing, and thereby retrace my own steps to the finale.
I hope when I get there, I'll have a better sense of the story, and a little less OH, HOLY CRAP! ;-)
SUPERNATURAL
Episode 5.20
The Devil You Know
Written by: Ben Edlund
Directed by: Robert Singer
Guest Starring: Jim Beaver, Eric Johnson, Mark Sheppard,
Plot Summary: Crowley the demon is back with a deal the gang can't - but probably should - refuse, and the hunt for the remaining two Horsemen takes a new twist.
Review
Man, this one I liked. To me, this was just good, solid stuff with so many extraordinary moments and excellent scenes. Oh, it's a bit cliché to start with the nasty pharmaceutical company CEO (Niveus Pharmaceutical) rushing to get a new vaccine into human testing, but SPN pretty much embroiders with cliché and still makes it work.
(For fun, I googled "niveus" and found the word means "snowy." This rang no bells until I found a Niveus Medical company in Palo Alto - where Sam of course met Brady. Coincidence or a sly jab by the writers?)
Anyhow, a demon disguised as a janitor injects the lab techs with the Croatoan virus, and it must be a new strain unlike that in Dean's trip to the future, where the "Croats" manifested a period of time after exposure, because these guys flipped pretty much instantaneously. (Perhaps showing that the future is never set, if the present virus already differs from the possible future Dean saw.)
But so far, Pestilence seems to be on a test run, because all he's doing is smearing Swine Flu around the countryside. In Nevada. Where I live. *glees merrily* The boys are tracking down these outbreaks because it's the only lead on the Horseman's whereabouts they have, but not even Bobby can figure out what the guy is up to. (Is Sam using a Blackberry phone, now?) So, Bobby tells them to just head east - love the boys again in unison, blurting, "East? - and Crowley the demon appears in the Impala's back seat.
HEE! I just love how Dean stands on the brakes, Sam grabs the Magick Knife, and as the car fishtails to a halt he stabs the - empty - back seat. Oops. Crowley reappears outside the car asking if they fancy a fag and a chat, and so the boys get out, both glowering like thunderheads.
It's an interesting situation, Sam furious in his accusations while Dean stands stone-faced, and Ellen and Jo hang remembered in the dark. In fact, Dean seems remarkably un-phased by Sam's volcanic wrath, and it's only when Crowley begs Dean to "call off your dog" that Dean interferes. He almost appears willing to let Sam gank the oily demonic cuss, or at least offer the appearance of it. But maybe that's the game, Dean playing Crowley as much as Crowley is surely playing them.
With Sam temporarily leashed, Crowley fesses up his mission: He can give them Pestilence. To Sam's outraged astonishment, Dean is actually interested in Crowley's offer and it's one helluva reversal from the days when Ruby was Sam's blind spot. But both boys listen, Dean cool as ice and Sam simmering like a lava flow while Crowley enumerates his grievances. ("They ATE my TAILOR!")
I've got to say that Mark Sheppard's portrayal as Crowley absolutely rocks my socks. He's self-indulgent, self-absorbed and blatant in his use of powers, from blinking Here-to-There as a means of irritation, to blasting out the street lamp in a fit of pique. He's a demon, dammit, unabashedly so, and unlike Ruby, he doesn't even pretend to be nice or sympathetic. Crowley revels in what he is and he's peeved only that Lucifer has become a massive inconvenience.
Visibly containing himself, Crowley concludes quietly, "Come with me. Please."
Sam stares literal murder. Dean just stares. So Crowley plays his hole card: "You want the Horseman rings or not?"
Uh, and Crowley read their secret plot in the Demon Tribune? The boys exchange glances, Sam unkinks from "kill" mode, and at an abandoned house on down the road, Crowley informs them he'd bugged their car with a demonic coin. (Um ... Sam says they should be hidden by hex bags, but we know it's Enochian sigils. Is Sam prevaricating, or did the writers goof?) Crowley knows all their secrets, pretty much, and he likes their plan to cram Lucifer back in the box. What he can do is get them the Horsemen's "stable boy," the demon who handles the Horsemen's, "itineraries, their ... personal needs."
Hm. So is this lackey a situation that has always existed, or is the "stable boy" someone whom Lucifer has more recently installed, now that he's pulling all the Apocalyptic strings? However that works, Crowley is confident that once they get this stable boy in custody, he can hard-sell the demon into turning against Pestilence.
That stable boy is none other than CEO Brady at Niveus Pharmaceuticals, who elsewhere is ranting to his board members that he wants their Swine Flu vaccine out in distribution NOW, despite unfinished lab tests. Brady subsequently slits one of his underlings throats to call his Boss, and yeah, I grinned to see the blood-in-a-chalice phone call thing used, because continuity makes me smile. :-)
I also enjoyed the scene because it establishes Brady as a slick, smooth-operator villain who is nonetheless answerable to a much scarier power. Plus the FLY buzzing up out of the blood to haunt the scene with Lucifer's taint? Delicious affect, that! :-) (I'm presuming it was Lucifer: Pestilence doesn't seem the sort to inspire fear in a demon.)
Back at the derelict house, the boys gear up for battle but Crowley announces that Sam is not welcome to come. Sam ... boy, he has hold of his temper these days by only the most frayed rope and he boils right over at the very thought. A glance at Dean's stony face confirms that the boys are not about to separate, but Crowley then threatens to walk.
Dean struggles with what seems a dozen choices of words in two seconds' time before blurting, "Wait." Pause. "I'll go."
Oh, Sam's poor face! He's hurt, he's incredulous, he's mute with disbelief, and he's helpless to do or say a thing as Dean professes to believe the guy and leaves. The Impala peels out with what seems a gratuitous display of horsepower, but then maybe that was Dean's way of burning off his own misgivings and Sam is left alone to think. And drink.
He's sucking on that bottle of hooch pretty hard as he explains the situation Bobby. (Who must never sleep, because it was dark when they talked to him ages earlier.) Bobby isn't terribly upset by Dean's unholy alliance, though, saying that with no other leads, maybe it's time for crazy ideas. In which case, Sam has one of his own.
First, he feels out how Bobby wrested control back from the demon that possessed him, and then Sam drops his bombshell. Since they really have no idea how to get Lucifer to take that last step into the Pit, he proposes they lead Lucifer to the edge and Sam takes the jump - with Lucifer as his passenger. HOLY FREAKING CRAP! Yeah, and that goes over with Bobby real well, too.
"You're not exactly Mister Anger Management," he rants. "How you gonna control the Devil, when you can't even control yourself?"
Score. The look on Sam's face says Bobby hit home on that one. Lucifer himself has gloated that he wants Sam's anger. The thing is, even though Sam appears to draw his courage in liquid form, he's speaking earnestly, and that I think is what freaks me and Bobby, both. The idiotic kid really means it. I think he's sincere in saying he won't do it without their consent, as much for family as tactical reasons, but just ... no, Sam. No. This is NOT the way.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in this night that must be about sixteen hours long, Crowley and Dean roll up to the Niveus office building. Rather than wait on Dean to find a stealthy way inside, however, Crowley again blinks out of the car and merrily slits the security guards' throats inside. Dean flails his way out of the car, bolts to the door and of course, he is horrified at the slaughter. But I think his brain is wheeling so damn fast with so many larger concerns that he almost processes the innocent victims with the form rather than the passion of true outrage.
Thereupon Crowley stuffs Dean in an elevator, hits the button and says, "It'll work like a charm. Trust me."
People. I love Mark Sheppard as Crowley. This guy is one of the best characters SPN has ever conjured. He chews up every scene for the simple fact that he enjoys being a demon. Crowley is utterly amoral, completely out for Number One, and gets positively gleeful over every least chance to provoke Sam and Dean. He's wicked and conniving and revels in the absolute freedom of having no conscience whatsoever. It's delicious. ;-)
Anyhow, so Dean checks the Magick Knife and up he goes. (I still wanna know about the boys' amazing inside coat pockets: you can hide anything in those things!) Sure enough, it's a setup. Brady suavely invites Dean in and Dean tries his best to horse trade a deal about giving Brady the other two Horsemen's rings, if only Brady would come along with him. Catch is ... Brady don't want 'em. Sans rings, War and Famine are husks of their original selves and Brady has no use for those rings at all. In fact, what he really wants ... is retribution.
At which point he proceeds to KICK the hell out of Dean, one boot at a time. People, that's some brutal stuff and I'm cringing for poor Dean, who doesn't even get a chance to pull that demon-killing knife. He finally scrambles into the elevator, which, hello, demon? Why doesn't Brady just teleport in after him and finish the job?
But maybe Brady has a sense of drama, too, since he waits until Dean reaches the ground floor before popping back into play and continuing his vicious beat-down. Man, I've never been so glad to see Crowley - who could have got there friggin' SOONER! - than when he appears to cram a symbol-scrawled gunny sack over Brady's head.
Then he beats said head bloody with a crowbar! Kripke. Seriously. They're demons, I get it, but day-um, the violence in this ep is sort of intense. Still, it works, and as Dean gasps that Brady didn't want the rings, he wanted Dean, Crowley is like, well, duh! Dean couldn't have faked the sort of surprise Crowley's ruse required, and that's what Dean gets for working with a demon. Crowley, you're witty, shiny, urbane and awesome, but right now, I kinda want to shoot your ass.
So, they heave Brady into the Impala and off they go. Moments later, Crowley is in the back seat carving restraining symbols into Brady's bare chest to lock him in his meat suit. Ew. But yeah, demon at work. Then Crowley gives Dean driving directions, stating that they can't go back to Sam. Naturally, Dean balks, demanding to know why and Crowley blithely says that Brady and Sam have "a history."
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH! Again Dean just locks up the brakes and slides 3,000 pounds of steel to a halt. That's m' boy. Sam may have feared a Ruby reprise, but here Dean makes it clear that's not what's gonna happen. The days of Sam and Dean holding secrets from each other are over and Dean wants answers - now.
When they get back to the derelict house, Sam sits brooding as only Sam can with half a bottle of whiskey disappeared. At the rumble of the Impala, he pops to his feet and heaves a huge sigh of relief as he peeks out the window. Downstairs, Crowley greets him first, bluntly stating that he's against this, they should be miles away from Sam, and then he invites Sam to go ahead and ruin their last, best hope.
To which Sam takes on his patented Sam!bzuh? expression, exchanges evil eyes with Crowley and slides off into the other room. There he finds Dean securing their hooded prisoner and Dean straightens to add even more weirdness to the situation.
"Sam," he says, "I need you to stay on mission. Okay? Focused."
"I don't understand. What's all this about?"
"I'm doing this because I trust you."
Which ... yeah. Sam and I both have waited a long time to hear this. But trust him with what?
"Sam?" the hooded Brady says. "Is that you?"
Ooooooooooooooookay.... Dean whips off the hood, Sam says, "Brady?" to which the demon smirks and replies, "Brady hasn't been Brady in years."
Turns out, Brady had been Sam's friend in college but the demon moved in, took over and even arranged to introduce Sam to Jess.
Oh, Sam flares into a towering rage and Dean has all he can do to shove 225 pounds of pissed-off little brother out of the room. Sam's hungered for revenge for five heartbreaking years, and he's not really hearing Dean's reasoning: they need Brady to get to Pestilence and they need Pestilence to get to the Devil.
Hell, I don't blame him because holy crap. Demons. Meddling with Sam. Even when he was supposedly safe at Stanford. My mind spins out endless, horrible possibilities that demons have been in Sam's life all along. I mean, who else - his grade school chums? His school bus drivers? His friggin' soccer coach? Has he ever been free of demons nudging his path? It doesn't need to be Destiny if Hell itself is pulling the strings.
I think Dean sees this, too, because his expression is surprisingly gentle even in the face of Sam's unyielding fury. He hasn't forgotten the broken young man he pushed out of that burning apartment.
Crowley sidles past with a sarcastic remark about Sam "fluffing" the captive for him and goes to coerce Brady. It's a good pitch. He points up all the pertinent issues: that Lucifer remains an angel and thus without loyalty to demons, and that when Lucifer cleans house on the planet, demons will get the mop right after humans. But Brady, alas, is one of those True Believers and it's beyond him to imagine that the Lord of demon-kind would turn on his own creations. Besides, as Brady points out, he's dead whether he tells Crowley anything or not, so he'd rather die with his loyalties intact.
Oh, and by the way, there are fates worse than death for a demon, because when Lucifer finally gets hands on Crowley? He's never going to let Crowley die. *shivers*
Well, this isn't going as planned. Crowley comes out to find Dean drinking a beer and reading a couple books and, "Where's your moose?" he asks. This tickles me inordinately. ;-) Upon hearing that Sam's cooling off, Crowley announces that he's off to do "exactly the kind of desperate swashbuckle" he'd been trying to avoid. He's going to kick over a nest of demons.
Yoiks? He vanishes and Dean goes to wash his face, because I imagine his brain is pretty nearly about to boil over. I know mine is! And Sam shuts him into the bathroom, props a door under the knob, and stalks off with the Magick Knife in hand and murder in his eyes.
ARGH, SAM! Damn, that boy is big and menacing as he emerges from the shadows, though Brady merely drawls, "Well, here we go."
This is Sam with half a quart of whiskey in him and five years of grief and hate, listening while Brady smirks and spins the tale. Sophomore year, Thanksgiving break and a drastic change in Brady's behavior. Changed because the demons realized he was a perfect point of access, and oh, Sam was such a good friend.
That just hurts, y' know? To think of young, idealistic Sam trying to help a friend get his life back on track. The "saving people" part of Sam's upbringing is graven on his soul, and I can just picture him with poor, screwed up Brady, the late-night talks and earnest eyes, trying so damned hard to help. But behind the smile of a friend lay a demon's soul, and I find that indescribably terrible.
See, Yellow Eyes thought Stanford!Sam was on his way to becoming "a mild-mannered sack of piss," so the demon was sent to inhabit Brady and pave the way to tragedy. To introduce Sam to Jess for the solitary purpose of tearing her from his life. "And then I toasted her on the ceiling."
"She was so surprised," Brady mocks, laughing. "So hurt when I started in on her."
People, I wanted to take the Knife to Brady myself, but Brady's daring Sam to do it. Sparks flare as the Knife strokes Brady's throat and Sam's internal struggle isn't very internal, at all.
But he pulls back. He sucks in all that rage and wrath and walks away. Why? Because Dean trusts him.
Back in the bathroom, Dean paces and pounds, whispering, "son of a bitch," when Sam's disembodied voice announces he's opening the door. Dean's pissed when he storms out, sure of the mess he'll find, but there's Brady no worse for wear and Crowley appears from thin air.
"God," Crowley sighs, as if it pleases him to blaspheme the holy Name, "the day I've had."
Dapper Crowley is looking a little tattered. Sleeves torn, suit pocket half off. He marches past the boys' stares of befuddlement and tells Brady, "Good news. You're going to live forever."
Turns out, Crowley went and staged a demon massacre, but in the process let one escape. Furthermore, he leaked word that Brady left his post last night not because he'd been taken prisoner, but because Brady and Crowley were - wait for it - "lovers in league against Satan."
BUAHAHAHAHAHA! Okay, so Show's digs towards fan fiction and slash have not been subtle, but this? Is hilarious. ;-) Brady's fabulous suavity begins to fray as he realizes that he's now on the same Eternal Torment list as Crowley, and Crowley suggests he might like to get on board with their plan to remove Lucifer as a threat.
But before Brady can voice the snarky comment we see forming on his tongue, a hound bays and it's a credit to Jensen's acting that Dean's terror of Hellhounds abruptly floods his demeanor. "Is that a Hellhound? Why is that a Hellhound?"
Turns out that during Crowley's bloodbath, one of the demons planted a tracking device coin on him and the Hound had followed him here. Or more rightly, it followed the coin. He tosses the coin to Dean, who foolishly and reflexively catchers it, and upon announcing that no one knows more about Hellhounds than him, Crowley goes *poof.*
Leaving Brady to panic even more than the Winchesters about the Hound's approach. Oh, boys, you really are twelve, because "I told you so" at a time like this? *SNORK*
Okay, I'm not sure why salt would work to stave off a Hellhound, because previously weren't we told that only Goofer Dust could do the job? *hand-waves*
Regardless, Dean bolts to the other room for their salt but too late: the window blasts in from the force of something huge and angry and invisible, and wow, I love the special FX of this scene. Tables splintering, glass bursting and window frames blowing to bits from the power of something we can't even see - it rocks. The half-light vision of the hound shows us its advance as Dean grabs a shotgun and bellows, "Sammy!"
They're cornered with Dean reloading salt shells and Sam trying to free Brady, when Crowley's voice barks, "Hey!"
"You're back?" Dean blurts and Crowley replies smugly, "I'm invested. Currently. Stay!"
Something snarls and Dean stammers, "You can control them?"
"Not that one," Crowley replies, and pats something at nearly shoulder height. "I brought my own. Mine's bigger. SIC 'EM, BOY!"
Dean flinches then dives out of the way and yup, the FX gang gets a big ol' wet kiss from me. What a battle royale of invisible titans, (including a blood splat on the camera lens) whilst our heroes and their demons make their escape.
Later, in an alley ornamented by a weathered mural of a man being shaved by a straight razor, an uncharacteristically subdued Brady hands over Pestilence's location.
"You screwed me," he complains to Crowley. "For eternity."
"Nah," says Crowley as he steps away. "Won't last that long. Trust me."
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going," Crowley replies, "to do you a favor."
Then Dean begins dribbling a salt line to seal the alley, while Sam faces Brady like a monolith. There's a prickly moment where Dean and Crowley stare daggers at each other as Dean just barely lets the demon step through the salt line, then Crowley disappears.
The salt seals Brady in, yes, but it also seals him in with Dean - and Sam. Sam who flexes his knees, limbers his stance, the Magick Knife in hand. What the hell is this?
Dean has that look on his face, the one that stops just short of smug but still says, 'you're so screwed,' and he looks at Brady as he says;
"All these angels, all these demons, all these sons of bitches…they just don't get it, do they, Sammy?"
"No, they don't, Dean," Sam replies. He's cool, so cool, eyes narrowed but chillingly calm.
"You see, Brady," Dean concludes, "we're the ones you should be afraid of."
And Sam sinks into a knife-fighter's crouch.
People. This scene. Dean and Sam, setting up their own little cage match. It frightened me for what it might mean to Sam's fragile soul but at the same time, I bit down hard on a cry of, "YES!" Dean's letting Sam have this, helping him, even, and it's "Sammy" he's backing while it all goes down. This is for Jess, the beautiful girl whom Dean once joked was out of Sam's league. This is for everything Sam should have had and that Dean wishes his little brother could have kept. This is not revenge. It's justice.
Brady keeps up the bravado, though, as Sam slinks towards him, a panther with its prey. To every taunt, every jibe, Sam reacts with frigid calm. No wrath. No anger. None of the rage that has driven him so far and that Lucifer seems to covet like breathing. The pain registers instead on Dean's face, as he watches and listens to this very private affair.
Finally Brady lunges and Sam strikes back as quick, and the wounded demon recoils for once last verbal salvo.
"Maybe the only difference between you and a demon? Is your Hell ... is right here!"
A lunge, a flare, a yowl of pain and Brady is dying, dead. Sam pulls the blade free and a few deep breaths lift and settle those massive shoulders. When he speaks, his voice is without inflection, and I can't decide if this is bad or good.
"Interesting theory," he tells the fallen corpse, then steps back and walks away.
Dean continues to stand watch, bear witness as Sam walks by, but he doesn't try to meet his brother's eyes. Maybe he doesn't want to know what he'd see in those eyes. Or maybe this moment, justice for Jess' murder, is so private a thing he doesn't want to intrude. But he stands in place and lets Sam retreat towards the waiting haven of the Impala.
This? Was a victory for Sam. Not because he at long last killed the thing that killed sweet Jess. Not because he finally got revenge. No, this was a win because Sam chose his course, rather than let passion rule him. Hey, Brady was evil and the Winchesters kill evil things. There's no way the boys would let him live. But Sam did what was needed because it was necessary, not because emotion drove him to it. Lucifer may want/need Sam's rage, but he has precious little use for his justice.
I can't even say how much I like this. How much I think that Sam's choice of behavior is going to matter.
Ah, and there's Bobby at home having a phone conversation with Rufus, and here's a cheer from me for continuity. The Winchesters aren't the only hunters dealing with the impending Apocalypse. When Bobby hangs up, a familiar voice tells him not to worry: the cavalry has arrived.
How I love this exchange! Two sharper wits are hard to imagine than Bobby vs Crowley. The whole thing is priceless, from Bobby spinning around with that Colt .45 Peacemaker to Crowley's pained yell when he pulls the trigger, to Bobby's now famous threat:
"Then get the hell off my property before I blast you so full of rock salt you crap margaritas!"
Crowley's snake-oiling the hell out of Bobby in his offer to help locate Death, and even when Bobby looks like he's entertaining the offer ... he ain't.
"Okay. Here's my counter." BLAM! Crowley on his ass on the kitchen floor is worth any price. ;-) But behind all the snark and bad-assery, there's a real deal. A spell to locate Death. Bobby's way too savvy to fall for any gimmick that involves trading off his soul. Right?
Or ... not. Crowley's preaching the same sermon he always has, that his "delicate ass" needs the Devil back in his box. He just needs to "borrow" Bobby's soul to work the Death-locator spell.
"I promise you," Crowley says, "temporary loan. I'll give it ... right ... back."
It's all I can do not to scream, "NOOOO! Because this is a demon and demons can't be trusted, and that look on Bobby's face - Argh! But Bobby knows one thing we should all remember. Demons are bound by their word. A deal is a deal, no welching, weaseling or backing out. For either the demon or his contractee.
But I don't like it. I hate that Bobby's even thinking about this, and I hate that he's reached a point in his life where he's prepared to throw himself into the Abyss if it helps the cause. I don't think it's just for Sam or Dean, either. This is a proactive deed that picks Bobby off the bench and puts him back in the game, swinging for the team. We can't discount how damned hard it's been for Bobby, not just that he's crippled but that he's been reduced from fighter to non-combatant.
Still. This slays me. Is everyone trying to throw themselves on the grenade? Sam is scaring the crap out of me, because this is him thinking logically, but Brady was right. Sam's Hell is and always has been his hope and need for atonement. So if Bobby takes that leap, then what the hell is left to anchor the boys this side of suicide? I've got such a bad feeling about this...
I hope when I get there, I'll have a better sense of the story, and a little less OH, HOLY CRAP! ;-)
SUPERNATURAL
Episode 5.20
The Devil You Know
Written by: Ben Edlund
Directed by: Robert Singer
Guest Starring: Jim Beaver, Eric Johnson, Mark Sheppard,
Plot Summary: Crowley the demon is back with a deal the gang can't - but probably should - refuse, and the hunt for the remaining two Horsemen takes a new twist.
Review
Man, this one I liked. To me, this was just good, solid stuff with so many extraordinary moments and excellent scenes. Oh, it's a bit cliché to start with the nasty pharmaceutical company CEO (Niveus Pharmaceutical) rushing to get a new vaccine into human testing, but SPN pretty much embroiders with cliché and still makes it work.
(For fun, I googled "niveus" and found the word means "snowy." This rang no bells until I found a Niveus Medical company in Palo Alto - where Sam of course met Brady. Coincidence or a sly jab by the writers?)
Anyhow, a demon disguised as a janitor injects the lab techs with the Croatoan virus, and it must be a new strain unlike that in Dean's trip to the future, where the "Croats" manifested a period of time after exposure, because these guys flipped pretty much instantaneously. (Perhaps showing that the future is never set, if the present virus already differs from the possible future Dean saw.)
But so far, Pestilence seems to be on a test run, because all he's doing is smearing Swine Flu around the countryside. In Nevada. Where I live. *glees merrily* The boys are tracking down these outbreaks because it's the only lead on the Horseman's whereabouts they have, but not even Bobby can figure out what the guy is up to. (Is Sam using a Blackberry phone, now?) So, Bobby tells them to just head east - love the boys again in unison, blurting, "East? - and Crowley the demon appears in the Impala's back seat.
HEE! I just love how Dean stands on the brakes, Sam grabs the Magick Knife, and as the car fishtails to a halt he stabs the - empty - back seat. Oops. Crowley reappears outside the car asking if they fancy a fag and a chat, and so the boys get out, both glowering like thunderheads.
It's an interesting situation, Sam furious in his accusations while Dean stands stone-faced, and Ellen and Jo hang remembered in the dark. In fact, Dean seems remarkably un-phased by Sam's volcanic wrath, and it's only when Crowley begs Dean to "call off your dog" that Dean interferes. He almost appears willing to let Sam gank the oily demonic cuss, or at least offer the appearance of it. But maybe that's the game, Dean playing Crowley as much as Crowley is surely playing them.
With Sam temporarily leashed, Crowley fesses up his mission: He can give them Pestilence. To Sam's outraged astonishment, Dean is actually interested in Crowley's offer and it's one helluva reversal from the days when Ruby was Sam's blind spot. But both boys listen, Dean cool as ice and Sam simmering like a lava flow while Crowley enumerates his grievances. ("They ATE my TAILOR!")
I've got to say that Mark Sheppard's portrayal as Crowley absolutely rocks my socks. He's self-indulgent, self-absorbed and blatant in his use of powers, from blinking Here-to-There as a means of irritation, to blasting out the street lamp in a fit of pique. He's a demon, dammit, unabashedly so, and unlike Ruby, he doesn't even pretend to be nice or sympathetic. Crowley revels in what he is and he's peeved only that Lucifer has become a massive inconvenience.
Visibly containing himself, Crowley concludes quietly, "Come with me. Please."
Sam stares literal murder. Dean just stares. So Crowley plays his hole card: "You want the Horseman rings or not?"
Uh, and Crowley read their secret plot in the Demon Tribune? The boys exchange glances, Sam unkinks from "kill" mode, and at an abandoned house on down the road, Crowley informs them he'd bugged their car with a demonic coin. (Um ... Sam says they should be hidden by hex bags, but we know it's Enochian sigils. Is Sam prevaricating, or did the writers goof?) Crowley knows all their secrets, pretty much, and he likes their plan to cram Lucifer back in the box. What he can do is get them the Horsemen's "stable boy," the demon who handles the Horsemen's, "itineraries, their ... personal needs."
Hm. So is this lackey a situation that has always existed, or is the "stable boy" someone whom Lucifer has more recently installed, now that he's pulling all the Apocalyptic strings? However that works, Crowley is confident that once they get this stable boy in custody, he can hard-sell the demon into turning against Pestilence.
That stable boy is none other than CEO Brady at Niveus Pharmaceuticals, who elsewhere is ranting to his board members that he wants their Swine Flu vaccine out in distribution NOW, despite unfinished lab tests. Brady subsequently slits one of his underlings throats to call his Boss, and yeah, I grinned to see the blood-in-a-chalice phone call thing used, because continuity makes me smile. :-)
I also enjoyed the scene because it establishes Brady as a slick, smooth-operator villain who is nonetheless answerable to a much scarier power. Plus the FLY buzzing up out of the blood to haunt the scene with Lucifer's taint? Delicious affect, that! :-) (I'm presuming it was Lucifer: Pestilence doesn't seem the sort to inspire fear in a demon.)
Back at the derelict house, the boys gear up for battle but Crowley announces that Sam is not welcome to come. Sam ... boy, he has hold of his temper these days by only the most frayed rope and he boils right over at the very thought. A glance at Dean's stony face confirms that the boys are not about to separate, but Crowley then threatens to walk.
Dean struggles with what seems a dozen choices of words in two seconds' time before blurting, "Wait." Pause. "I'll go."
Oh, Sam's poor face! He's hurt, he's incredulous, he's mute with disbelief, and he's helpless to do or say a thing as Dean professes to believe the guy and leaves. The Impala peels out with what seems a gratuitous display of horsepower, but then maybe that was Dean's way of burning off his own misgivings and Sam is left alone to think. And drink.
He's sucking on that bottle of hooch pretty hard as he explains the situation Bobby. (Who must never sleep, because it was dark when they talked to him ages earlier.) Bobby isn't terribly upset by Dean's unholy alliance, though, saying that with no other leads, maybe it's time for crazy ideas. In which case, Sam has one of his own.
First, he feels out how Bobby wrested control back from the demon that possessed him, and then Sam drops his bombshell. Since they really have no idea how to get Lucifer to take that last step into the Pit, he proposes they lead Lucifer to the edge and Sam takes the jump - with Lucifer as his passenger. HOLY FREAKING CRAP! Yeah, and that goes over with Bobby real well, too.
"You're not exactly Mister Anger Management," he rants. "How you gonna control the Devil, when you can't even control yourself?"
Score. The look on Sam's face says Bobby hit home on that one. Lucifer himself has gloated that he wants Sam's anger. The thing is, even though Sam appears to draw his courage in liquid form, he's speaking earnestly, and that I think is what freaks me and Bobby, both. The idiotic kid really means it. I think he's sincere in saying he won't do it without their consent, as much for family as tactical reasons, but just ... no, Sam. No. This is NOT the way.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in this night that must be about sixteen hours long, Crowley and Dean roll up to the Niveus office building. Rather than wait on Dean to find a stealthy way inside, however, Crowley again blinks out of the car and merrily slits the security guards' throats inside. Dean flails his way out of the car, bolts to the door and of course, he is horrified at the slaughter. But I think his brain is wheeling so damn fast with so many larger concerns that he almost processes the innocent victims with the form rather than the passion of true outrage.
Thereupon Crowley stuffs Dean in an elevator, hits the button and says, "It'll work like a charm. Trust me."
People. I love Mark Sheppard as Crowley. This guy is one of the best characters SPN has ever conjured. He chews up every scene for the simple fact that he enjoys being a demon. Crowley is utterly amoral, completely out for Number One, and gets positively gleeful over every least chance to provoke Sam and Dean. He's wicked and conniving and revels in the absolute freedom of having no conscience whatsoever. It's delicious. ;-)
Anyhow, so Dean checks the Magick Knife and up he goes. (I still wanna know about the boys' amazing inside coat pockets: you can hide anything in those things!) Sure enough, it's a setup. Brady suavely invites Dean in and Dean tries his best to horse trade a deal about giving Brady the other two Horsemen's rings, if only Brady would come along with him. Catch is ... Brady don't want 'em. Sans rings, War and Famine are husks of their original selves and Brady has no use for those rings at all. In fact, what he really wants ... is retribution.
At which point he proceeds to KICK the hell out of Dean, one boot at a time. People, that's some brutal stuff and I'm cringing for poor Dean, who doesn't even get a chance to pull that demon-killing knife. He finally scrambles into the elevator, which, hello, demon? Why doesn't Brady just teleport in after him and finish the job?
But maybe Brady has a sense of drama, too, since he waits until Dean reaches the ground floor before popping back into play and continuing his vicious beat-down. Man, I've never been so glad to see Crowley - who could have got there friggin' SOONER! - than when he appears to cram a symbol-scrawled gunny sack over Brady's head.
Then he beats said head bloody with a crowbar! Kripke. Seriously. They're demons, I get it, but day-um, the violence in this ep is sort of intense. Still, it works, and as Dean gasps that Brady didn't want the rings, he wanted Dean, Crowley is like, well, duh! Dean couldn't have faked the sort of surprise Crowley's ruse required, and that's what Dean gets for working with a demon. Crowley, you're witty, shiny, urbane and awesome, but right now, I kinda want to shoot your ass.
So, they heave Brady into the Impala and off they go. Moments later, Crowley is in the back seat carving restraining symbols into Brady's bare chest to lock him in his meat suit. Ew. But yeah, demon at work. Then Crowley gives Dean driving directions, stating that they can't go back to Sam. Naturally, Dean balks, demanding to know why and Crowley blithely says that Brady and Sam have "a history."
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH! Again Dean just locks up the brakes and slides 3,000 pounds of steel to a halt. That's m' boy. Sam may have feared a Ruby reprise, but here Dean makes it clear that's not what's gonna happen. The days of Sam and Dean holding secrets from each other are over and Dean wants answers - now.
When they get back to the derelict house, Sam sits brooding as only Sam can with half a bottle of whiskey disappeared. At the rumble of the Impala, he pops to his feet and heaves a huge sigh of relief as he peeks out the window. Downstairs, Crowley greets him first, bluntly stating that he's against this, they should be miles away from Sam, and then he invites Sam to go ahead and ruin their last, best hope.
To which Sam takes on his patented Sam!bzuh? expression, exchanges evil eyes with Crowley and slides off into the other room. There he finds Dean securing their hooded prisoner and Dean straightens to add even more weirdness to the situation.
"Sam," he says, "I need you to stay on mission. Okay? Focused."
"I don't understand. What's all this about?"
"I'm doing this because I trust you."
Which ... yeah. Sam and I both have waited a long time to hear this. But trust him with what?
"Sam?" the hooded Brady says. "Is that you?"
Ooooooooooooooookay.... Dean whips off the hood, Sam says, "Brady?" to which the demon smirks and replies, "Brady hasn't been Brady in years."
Turns out, Brady had been Sam's friend in college but the demon moved in, took over and even arranged to introduce Sam to Jess.
Oh, Sam flares into a towering rage and Dean has all he can do to shove 225 pounds of pissed-off little brother out of the room. Sam's hungered for revenge for five heartbreaking years, and he's not really hearing Dean's reasoning: they need Brady to get to Pestilence and they need Pestilence to get to the Devil.
Hell, I don't blame him because holy crap. Demons. Meddling with Sam. Even when he was supposedly safe at Stanford. My mind spins out endless, horrible possibilities that demons have been in Sam's life all along. I mean, who else - his grade school chums? His school bus drivers? His friggin' soccer coach? Has he ever been free of demons nudging his path? It doesn't need to be Destiny if Hell itself is pulling the strings.
I think Dean sees this, too, because his expression is surprisingly gentle even in the face of Sam's unyielding fury. He hasn't forgotten the broken young man he pushed out of that burning apartment.
Crowley sidles past with a sarcastic remark about Sam "fluffing" the captive for him and goes to coerce Brady. It's a good pitch. He points up all the pertinent issues: that Lucifer remains an angel and thus without loyalty to demons, and that when Lucifer cleans house on the planet, demons will get the mop right after humans. But Brady, alas, is one of those True Believers and it's beyond him to imagine that the Lord of demon-kind would turn on his own creations. Besides, as Brady points out, he's dead whether he tells Crowley anything or not, so he'd rather die with his loyalties intact.
Oh, and by the way, there are fates worse than death for a demon, because when Lucifer finally gets hands on Crowley? He's never going to let Crowley die. *shivers*
Well, this isn't going as planned. Crowley comes out to find Dean drinking a beer and reading a couple books and, "Where's your moose?" he asks. This tickles me inordinately. ;-) Upon hearing that Sam's cooling off, Crowley announces that he's off to do "exactly the kind of desperate swashbuckle" he'd been trying to avoid. He's going to kick over a nest of demons.
Yoiks? He vanishes and Dean goes to wash his face, because I imagine his brain is pretty nearly about to boil over. I know mine is! And Sam shuts him into the bathroom, props a door under the knob, and stalks off with the Magick Knife in hand and murder in his eyes.
ARGH, SAM! Damn, that boy is big and menacing as he emerges from the shadows, though Brady merely drawls, "Well, here we go."
This is Sam with half a quart of whiskey in him and five years of grief and hate, listening while Brady smirks and spins the tale. Sophomore year, Thanksgiving break and a drastic change in Brady's behavior. Changed because the demons realized he was a perfect point of access, and oh, Sam was such a good friend.
That just hurts, y' know? To think of young, idealistic Sam trying to help a friend get his life back on track. The "saving people" part of Sam's upbringing is graven on his soul, and I can just picture him with poor, screwed up Brady, the late-night talks and earnest eyes, trying so damned hard to help. But behind the smile of a friend lay a demon's soul, and I find that indescribably terrible.
See, Yellow Eyes thought Stanford!Sam was on his way to becoming "a mild-mannered sack of piss," so the demon was sent to inhabit Brady and pave the way to tragedy. To introduce Sam to Jess for the solitary purpose of tearing her from his life. "And then I toasted her on the ceiling."
"She was so surprised," Brady mocks, laughing. "So hurt when I started in on her."
People, I wanted to take the Knife to Brady myself, but Brady's daring Sam to do it. Sparks flare as the Knife strokes Brady's throat and Sam's internal struggle isn't very internal, at all.
But he pulls back. He sucks in all that rage and wrath and walks away. Why? Because Dean trusts him.
Back in the bathroom, Dean paces and pounds, whispering, "son of a bitch," when Sam's disembodied voice announces he's opening the door. Dean's pissed when he storms out, sure of the mess he'll find, but there's Brady no worse for wear and Crowley appears from thin air.
"God," Crowley sighs, as if it pleases him to blaspheme the holy Name, "the day I've had."
Dapper Crowley is looking a little tattered. Sleeves torn, suit pocket half off. He marches past the boys' stares of befuddlement and tells Brady, "Good news. You're going to live forever."
Turns out, Crowley went and staged a demon massacre, but in the process let one escape. Furthermore, he leaked word that Brady left his post last night not because he'd been taken prisoner, but because Brady and Crowley were - wait for it - "lovers in league against Satan."
BUAHAHAHAHAHA! Okay, so Show's digs towards fan fiction and slash have not been subtle, but this? Is hilarious. ;-) Brady's fabulous suavity begins to fray as he realizes that he's now on the same Eternal Torment list as Crowley, and Crowley suggests he might like to get on board with their plan to remove Lucifer as a threat.
But before Brady can voice the snarky comment we see forming on his tongue, a hound bays and it's a credit to Jensen's acting that Dean's terror of Hellhounds abruptly floods his demeanor. "Is that a Hellhound? Why is that a Hellhound?"
Turns out that during Crowley's bloodbath, one of the demons planted a tracking device coin on him and the Hound had followed him here. Or more rightly, it followed the coin. He tosses the coin to Dean, who foolishly and reflexively catchers it, and upon announcing that no one knows more about Hellhounds than him, Crowley goes *poof.*
Leaving Brady to panic even more than the Winchesters about the Hound's approach. Oh, boys, you really are twelve, because "I told you so" at a time like this? *SNORK*
Okay, I'm not sure why salt would work to stave off a Hellhound, because previously weren't we told that only Goofer Dust could do the job? *hand-waves*
Regardless, Dean bolts to the other room for their salt but too late: the window blasts in from the force of something huge and angry and invisible, and wow, I love the special FX of this scene. Tables splintering, glass bursting and window frames blowing to bits from the power of something we can't even see - it rocks. The half-light vision of the hound shows us its advance as Dean grabs a shotgun and bellows, "Sammy!"
They're cornered with Dean reloading salt shells and Sam trying to free Brady, when Crowley's voice barks, "Hey!"
"You're back?" Dean blurts and Crowley replies smugly, "I'm invested. Currently. Stay!"
Something snarls and Dean stammers, "You can control them?"
"Not that one," Crowley replies, and pats something at nearly shoulder height. "I brought my own. Mine's bigger. SIC 'EM, BOY!"
Dean flinches then dives out of the way and yup, the FX gang gets a big ol' wet kiss from me. What a battle royale of invisible titans, (including a blood splat on the camera lens) whilst our heroes and their demons make their escape.
Later, in an alley ornamented by a weathered mural of a man being shaved by a straight razor, an uncharacteristically subdued Brady hands over Pestilence's location.
"You screwed me," he complains to Crowley. "For eternity."
"Nah," says Crowley as he steps away. "Won't last that long. Trust me."
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going," Crowley replies, "to do you a favor."
Then Dean begins dribbling a salt line to seal the alley, while Sam faces Brady like a monolith. There's a prickly moment where Dean and Crowley stare daggers at each other as Dean just barely lets the demon step through the salt line, then Crowley disappears.
The salt seals Brady in, yes, but it also seals him in with Dean - and Sam. Sam who flexes his knees, limbers his stance, the Magick Knife in hand. What the hell is this?
Dean has that look on his face, the one that stops just short of smug but still says, 'you're so screwed,' and he looks at Brady as he says;
"All these angels, all these demons, all these sons of bitches…they just don't get it, do they, Sammy?"
"No, they don't, Dean," Sam replies. He's cool, so cool, eyes narrowed but chillingly calm.
"You see, Brady," Dean concludes, "we're the ones you should be afraid of."
And Sam sinks into a knife-fighter's crouch.
People. This scene. Dean and Sam, setting up their own little cage match. It frightened me for what it might mean to Sam's fragile soul but at the same time, I bit down hard on a cry of, "YES!" Dean's letting Sam have this, helping him, even, and it's "Sammy" he's backing while it all goes down. This is for Jess, the beautiful girl whom Dean once joked was out of Sam's league. This is for everything Sam should have had and that Dean wishes his little brother could have kept. This is not revenge. It's justice.
Brady keeps up the bravado, though, as Sam slinks towards him, a panther with its prey. To every taunt, every jibe, Sam reacts with frigid calm. No wrath. No anger. None of the rage that has driven him so far and that Lucifer seems to covet like breathing. The pain registers instead on Dean's face, as he watches and listens to this very private affair.
Finally Brady lunges and Sam strikes back as quick, and the wounded demon recoils for once last verbal salvo.
"Maybe the only difference between you and a demon? Is your Hell ... is right here!"
A lunge, a flare, a yowl of pain and Brady is dying, dead. Sam pulls the blade free and a few deep breaths lift and settle those massive shoulders. When he speaks, his voice is without inflection, and I can't decide if this is bad or good.
"Interesting theory," he tells the fallen corpse, then steps back and walks away.
Dean continues to stand watch, bear witness as Sam walks by, but he doesn't try to meet his brother's eyes. Maybe he doesn't want to know what he'd see in those eyes. Or maybe this moment, justice for Jess' murder, is so private a thing he doesn't want to intrude. But he stands in place and lets Sam retreat towards the waiting haven of the Impala.
This? Was a victory for Sam. Not because he at long last killed the thing that killed sweet Jess. Not because he finally got revenge. No, this was a win because Sam chose his course, rather than let passion rule him. Hey, Brady was evil and the Winchesters kill evil things. There's no way the boys would let him live. But Sam did what was needed because it was necessary, not because emotion drove him to it. Lucifer may want/need Sam's rage, but he has precious little use for his justice.
I can't even say how much I like this. How much I think that Sam's choice of behavior is going to matter.
Ah, and there's Bobby at home having a phone conversation with Rufus, and here's a cheer from me for continuity. The Winchesters aren't the only hunters dealing with the impending Apocalypse. When Bobby hangs up, a familiar voice tells him not to worry: the cavalry has arrived.
How I love this exchange! Two sharper wits are hard to imagine than Bobby vs Crowley. The whole thing is priceless, from Bobby spinning around with that Colt .45 Peacemaker to Crowley's pained yell when he pulls the trigger, to Bobby's now famous threat:
"Then get the hell off my property before I blast you so full of rock salt you crap margaritas!"
Crowley's snake-oiling the hell out of Bobby in his offer to help locate Death, and even when Bobby looks like he's entertaining the offer ... he ain't.
"Okay. Here's my counter." BLAM! Crowley on his ass on the kitchen floor is worth any price. ;-) But behind all the snark and bad-assery, there's a real deal. A spell to locate Death. Bobby's way too savvy to fall for any gimmick that involves trading off his soul. Right?
Or ... not. Crowley's preaching the same sermon he always has, that his "delicate ass" needs the Devil back in his box. He just needs to "borrow" Bobby's soul to work the Death-locator spell.
"I promise you," Crowley says, "temporary loan. I'll give it ... right ... back."
It's all I can do not to scream, "NOOOO! Because this is a demon and demons can't be trusted, and that look on Bobby's face - Argh! But Bobby knows one thing we should all remember. Demons are bound by their word. A deal is a deal, no welching, weaseling or backing out. For either the demon or his contractee.
But I don't like it. I hate that Bobby's even thinking about this, and I hate that he's reached a point in his life where he's prepared to throw himself into the Abyss if it helps the cause. I don't think it's just for Sam or Dean, either. This is a proactive deed that picks Bobby off the bench and puts him back in the game, swinging for the team. We can't discount how damned hard it's been for Bobby, not just that he's crippled but that he's been reduced from fighter to non-combatant.
Still. This slays me. Is everyone trying to throw themselves on the grenade? Sam is scaring the crap out of me, because this is him thinking logically, but Brady was right. Sam's Hell is and always has been his hope and need for atonement. So if Bobby takes that leap, then what the hell is left to anchor the boys this side of suicide? I've got such a bad feeling about this...