HOLLYWOOD—Welcome back “Supernatural” fans! Talk about ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers!’ With Angels looking for vessels left, right and center, it’s hard to see who the good guys are anymore. Tuesday’s episode of Supernatural started off with Castiel (Misha Collins) getting used every day human needs in a homeless shelter, such as drinking water and brushing his teeth – by squeezing the paste directly from the tube into his mouth and wondering if people ever get “tired of the need to urinate.” The fact that Castiel is going by the name ‘Clarence,’ that Meg (Rachel Miner) used to call him in jest breaks my heart. Of course, I’m still not over Meg’s death. Just close my eyes and pretend it never happened, right? In the meantime, while participating in janitorial duties at the church he is currently housed in; Cas discovers blood on tombstone and follows it to see what’s going on. To his dismay, he discovers the bodies of two dead priests, most likely due to angels seeking Castiel out for revenge.
Meanwhile, Dean (Jensen Ackles) worries about Sam’s (Jared Padalecki) recovery rate now that Ezekiel is healing Sam from the inside out. For a split second, I thought I missed an episode when Sam told Dean that he knew about the angel possession; but apparently it was just Ezekiel putting Sam on pause to give Dean breaking news on the angel front; informing him that the angels were forming a faction to hunt Castiel.
The new angel in charge appears to be Bartholomew (Adam Harrington). With the help of help of televangelist and Reverend Buddy Boyle, the angels are able to tell the humans that need human vessels to carry out God’s work. One girl enters the office of the reverend hoping to become the vessel of an angel; but once the angel inhabits her, she explodes. Bartholomew (Adam Harrington) explains to a traumatized Reverend Buddy Boyle that not all people who are willing are made to hold angels.
When Castiel changes his location, an angel finds him sleeping inside a broken bus. I must admit, I’m very confused. I was under the impression that Metatron (Curtis Armstrong) was tearing the grace out of the angels in heaven and tossing them to earth, but it seems that some angels managed to escape with their powers intact, like Ezekiel.
After leaving the abandoned bus, he goes into a tattoo parlour to get himself marked with anti-angel marks. I think the most controversial part about this season so far, is the irony about Angels coming to help people when they’ve been so self-serving in the series. Castiel confronts a woman who is praying and poses a ‘what if’ question about heaven going out of business, but them she replies that the idea is impossible because she has her faith. And advises Cas to see things her way.
Meanwhile, in their quest to find Cas, Sam and Dean find out about the reverend that is leading them is encouraging people to let the Angels in, since the angels can’t enter with human permission. Unfortunately, the pair is being followed by a Reaper who is reporting to the angel, Bartholomew about Castiel’s whereabouts.
Castiel is later taken in by a woman named April (Shannon Lucio) who gave him a sandwich when he was hungry. April noticed a cut on his shoulder and cleans it up for him telling him he doesn’t look like the knife-fight/homeless type. He oddly enough confides in this woman, telling her his actually name, and telling him what landed him in his predicament was Vanity; ‘thinking he was more important than [he] was.’ Though she claimed not to be the type to take in strange men; April certainly responded to the pity of the “handsome stranger.” Seriously, she barely knows the guy! Why do writers always make women say they never let strange men come home with them before sleeping with them? April questions Cas and his “trust in the wrong people,” and suggests that perhaps that person he trusted could help him. The next morning, he begins to collect his things when he notices his angel blade is missing and asks April about its whereabouts when she turns the blade on him. Seriously, looks like Sam’s got some competition in the “unlucky in love” department. Poor guys!
After what seemed like forever, the two stopped the reaper mid-pursuit and asked him why he was following them and discover he isn’t the only reaper for hire. Dean seeks out Ezekiel for help on Cas’ whereabouts by locating possible Reapers that may be following him.
Back to Cas, April confesses that she was hired to find him and get information by gaining his trust to get information about Metatron. Just when Cas begins telling her that he may be the key to saving heaven, Just as Sam and Dean burst in. April stabs Cas and give the Winchesters their seemingly customary welcome greeting and tosses them against the wall. Dean sees the angel blade in him and pulls it out to gank April. As Dean realizes he can’t save him, he looks over to Sam and tells him that Cas is gone, but Ezekiel gets up and heals Castiel’s wounds before returning to his Sam-state. When Sam and Cas wake up to find that he isn’t dead, they look to Dean for answers and he lies saying he asked the reaper to bring him back before killing her.
Dean and Sam bring Castiel back to the Men of Letters bunker. Is it strange that the last living Men of Letters member told them to take the key and toss it into the bunker so no one else would have access to their knowledge; and Sam and Dean respect his wishes by bringing everyone they know there? I mean, I get Kevin (Osric Chau), Castiel, and Charlie (Felicia Day); but the day after they got a hold of the key, they invite people they’re helping (total strangers) there? Either way, Ezekiel tells Dean that Cas cannot stay with them because it isn’t safe. Talk about a plot twist! In the first episode, Ezekiel offers to help Castiel in any way he can; and now he can’t be in the same room as him for fear of his own safety? Sketchy! Either way, looks like Dean has a tough conversation ahead. Until next week, “Supernatural” fans!