When I heard Bobby and Rufus were returning for this week’s episode, I had no idea it would be so delightful. Robbie Thompson does it again, taking pieces of the show’s history and incorporating it into the show in an amusing, and in this case, creepy way.

Then!

Bobby and Rufus were cranky. Awww, I miss them.

Now!

A woman in Grand Rapids is removing wallpaper, and uncovers what appears, to the seasoned SPN fan, to be some sort of sigil. But before we see what it is, the woman’s daughter screams from her bedroom, and once the lights go out and the door closes creakily, we know things are no bueno in this house!

Sam and Dean are at a diner, weary, and with no leads on Amara or Casifer. As is their way, Sam convinces Dean to go work a case to keep them occupied. And this is where the fun begins. As Sam and Dean approach the house in their Fed suits, the neighbor clues them in, that two other Feds (Bobby and Rufus) had been there a handful of years ago.

We cut back and forth between the past and the present as both pairs of hunters unravel the mystery. The parallels between Sam and Dean, and Bobby and Rufus are amusing and sweet. The whole thing is adorable.

Sam and Dean dig graves by hand. Bobby and Rufus use a backhoe.

A sweet moment with Bobby calling Sam and Dean ‘his boys’, and Rufus reminding us all that not everyone survives the fight. And we get the first anvil of the night. The show likes to warn us that Sam and/or Dean are not gonna make it, but since the show just got a season 12 pick-up, I am supposing it won’t be anytime soon.

Or at least it won’t be permanent, no matter what the reaper said at the beginning of the season.

All four figure out that the house is inhabited by a Soul Eater, which brings it’s victims into it’s nest to feed on. And the nest is in some other world outside the laws of space and time. Bobby and Rufus figure out how to trap the Soul Eater, hence the sigil painted under the wallpaper. But Sam and Dean, using the Men of Letters info at their disposal, figure out how to not just trap it, but how to kill it.

And then things get Cree-Pee. And we see the difference between the old and the new with this exchange:

Dean: ‘Come and get me, you son of a bitch.”; Cut to Bobby: “Stay away from me, you son of a bitch.”

Dean gets sucked into the nest of the Soul Eater, and sees a vision of DeadSam. Bobby gets sucked into the nest, and sees a vision of DeadSam and DeadDean. This nest is a terrible place!

And then Dean and Bobby start seeing all the ‘sad people’ who are trapped in the nest too. This is the stuff of nightmares, my friends, but I certainly would want Dean or Bobby to show up if I was trapped in there!

The Soul Eater then inhabits the bodies of Dean and Bobby, and tries to stop Sam and Rufus from finishing their sigils. FIGHTING ENSUES. The Soul Eater promises Sam that he can fight The Darkness and keep him safe, and drops the DeanWantsToGoToTheDarkness tidbit.

Sammy finishes the sigil, the Soul Eater evaporates; Rufus finishes the sigil, and Bobby and Dean see each other in the nest for just a moment before returning to their bodies in their respective timelines. I get a little teary-eyed.

Bobby puts up the terrible wallpaper that started all of this. Better wallpaper might have been a better choice, Bobby!

Bobby and Dean confess about the visions they saw. Because no one keeps secrets this season! WooHoo!

Bobby finds the bottle of Johnny Walker Blue that Jody finds in Bobby’s things back in season 7. Excellent callback!

Everyone drives away to the same Allman Brothers(?) song on the radio, and I am sweetly satisfied by all of this. A most excellent episode, full of every single thing I love about this show.

Quotes!

Sam: “Plus, we could use a win, and this case seems like a lay-up.”  Dean: “Yeah, when was the last time we had a lay-up?”

Mom: “Nobody thinks there was an attack. Even the internet thinks I’m crazy.”

Bobby: “FBI, ma’am. Special Agent Riggs, my partner, Special Agent, Murtaugh.”

Bobby: “Were you ever nice.”  Rufus: “1985. Worst year of my life.”

Sam: “Get this, the manager said two FBI agents stayed here a few years ago, so I got the same room, for luck.”

Dean: “C’mon, you think Bobby and Rufus wasted any time arguing about this crap?” [cut to Bobby and Rufus arguing about this crap.]

Bobby: “I’m worried about my boys.”  Rufus: “Your boys? Hey, hey, all right, okay, papa bear. But you know more than anyone, Bobby, even if we find a way to keep the world spinning, not everyone’s gonna be on that bus ride home. Sacrifice, greater good, all that jazz.”  Bobby: “Yeah, I know.”  Rufus: “Oldest rule of hunting Bobby, you can’t save everyone.”

Sam; “It’s too bad Bobby and Rufus aren’t around to see this stuff. They would have been great Men of Letters.”  Dean: “Yeah, Grumpy Old Men of Letters, but yeah.”

Dean: “Not it!”

Bobby: “If memory serves, things are about to get hairy.”  Rufus: “You want to hold my hand?”

Rufus: “Why? So you can show me a bunch of messed up stuff in there, while my fabulous body rots out here? [smiles] I don’t think I wanna take that ride.”

Dean: “Let’s get drunk and never think about this again.”

Next!

Amara and reapers and death and stuff.