I really liked this episode, Dean in glasses, Lucifer being Lucifer, Castiel being the sweetest little angel, but the supporting players really stood out to me this time around. Not better than our beloved regulars, but especially fun and worthy characters, even if they only were onscreen for a short period. Let’s meet the players, shall we?

Gwen: She really shouldn’t have invited her boyfriend out for a camping trip, not only because she knew the relationship wasn’t going to work (especially once she found the engagement ring cleverly hidden in his sock), but because her nice enough beau ends up at the wrong end of a Hellhound’s cubbie in the woods, and even though he makes it back to camp, the hound shreds him to death right in front of her eyes. And when Sam and Dean show up in their Fed suits, she gets really mad at their clearly bullshit story, and she tells them to GTFO, like any self-respecting woman who is told by a couple of dudes that she was seeing things. No matter that they may be the hottest FBI agents ever.

When Sam and Dean burst in to save her from the Hellhound that has snuck in after them, she accepts their help graciously, and is relieved to finally hear the truth. My favorite thing about her is that she takes all of this in stride. Even when Crowley shows up to give them the down-low on which particular Hellhound this happens to be (Lucifer’s favorite bitch, Ramsey), she seems all, “Invisible dogs, dudes showing up out of thin air, hot monster hunters, okay then.”

Regardless, I am guessing that Gwen has some therapy sessions in her future, as Dean and Crowley are tromping through the woods, she feels so bad about what happened to her boyfriend that she tells Sam to pull over to the side of the road so she can puke her guts out. And if that isn’t bad enough, while sitting on the side of the road having a chat in Baby, Ramsey the Hellhound shows up, stomping all over the car and busting out windows. Sam jumps out to get her, and when his HellHound Peepers get knocked off his face, and Ramsey is closing in for her next kill, Gwen jumps in and smashes the dog with Dean’s backseat cooler, giving Sam the opening to get up and ultimately kill his second Hellhound. Good job, Gwen! You are so gonna need some therapy one day!

But for now, Gwen doesn’t seem too fazed by all that has occurred, and even says sarcastically, “He seems nice.” regarding Crowley’s hasty retreat when Sam musters up the dreaded, “Thank you.”

Herb: Castiel is off searching for Kellie Kline, and keeping true to his hunter training, he is following a trail he found via the headline of a trashy supermarket tabloid. Bringing him to Idaho and a little diner run by Herb, a dedicated conspiracy theorist who is very happy to finally have a Man in Black (Beige) come and listen to his wild theories. He has mistaken Angels for Aliens, and the Angel Blade for Star Metal, but he did catch Dagon killing some angels and rescuing Kellie, even catching her yellow eyes on video.

Castiel recognizes the value of the video, even if the person who delivers it barely even notices Cass’ eyerolls as Herb goes on and on about the aliens. Finally, someone who will listen to him, Herb keeps on talking, even as Cass grabs the evidence and walks out without saying a word, slamming the door in poor Herb’s face. Oh Herb, your kind is generally wrong with the details, but your enthusiasm and actual evidence has always been helpful to our boys.

Kelvin: Castiel is still one of the most famous angels in Heaven, a fact that is reiterated when Kelvin shows up and is flattered that Castiel remembers who he is, even though they had only met once. This has been a recurring theme with Castiel, and may be one of the reasons he is still alive. Angels: They’re just like us! Kelvin has come with a simple request, to invite Castiel back home, back up in heaven. Cass is rightly dubious, knowing how many angels still hold grudges from the whole Metatron debacle, and various other missteps. While Kelvin acknowledges that there are some who aren’t happy about it, many others feel that the hunt for the Nephilim require all hands on deck. As a fan, I am not entirely trusting of Kelvin, but he says all the right things, drops Joshua’s name as a supporter of Castiel, and does his job and gets Castiel to agree to at least visit home.

Nosy Demons: The Demons of the Week (one is named Thomas?), after running through a litany of Hell Business with Crowley, including lamenting that there aren’t enough babies for eatin’, nick the key from Crowley’s pocket as he is distracted by a call from Dean. The apparent leader of this duo is very curious about what is behind the door Crowley keeps disappearing through, and is even suspicious that it may be Lucifer himself.  As soon as they are able, they let themselves into the room where they find Lucifer being held with various chains and gags. Lucifer looks thrilled that these dummies have come to rescue him, and when the first demon’s demands go on and on, Lucifer just grins and nods his head, happy to let this guy dig his own grave. The second demon, having fallen to his knees at the mere sight of Lucy, only wants to bow to his master, and just asks to “help Make Hell Great Again.” HEE.

Once Lucifer is freed, and gets in a good stretch, he quickly dispatches the demons, taking a moment to sincerely apologize to the one who immediately fell to his knees in reverence. Silly demons, there is no negotiating with Lucifer!

Lucifer: First of all, I was going down a YouTube rabbit hole one night and found a clip of Mark Pellegrino speaking at one of the SPN cons a couple of weeks before he reappeared on the show, and someone asked him if he would ever come back on the show. He said he would love to, and if they ever call, he would do whatever he could to make sure he could do it. The funny bit is, that he had already filmed one of those episodes, so he absolutely knew he would be back, and I love that he kept that secret for the fans.

Secondly, calling Lucifer a supporting player isn’t really fair. His escape and subsequent reveal that Crowley has carved spellwork in Lucifer’s vessels cells changes the power dynamic of these two, and probably for the whole show, at least for now. That is a big deal, and I can’t wait to see how his continued presence is gonna play out, but he really only had a little bit going on in this episode, so I am taking liberty and including him in this post.

Other things:

• This show has gone Meta enough times that the gag with the baseball bat was cute. Supernatural had Jeffrey Dean Morgan first, so they get to make jokes however they want. Plus, a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire would really be an excellent weapon for the boys, so I am fine with it! 🙂
• Any time someone wants to put the boys in their Hellhound hunting peepers, I am fine with it.
• It took exactly the length of one episode for Sam to come clean to Dean about working for the British Men of Letters, which is something that would have never happened back in the early days of the show. That would have been a a secret that was dragged out for a few episodes, and then lead to Sam probably packing up his stuff and leaving. But this go around, Sam couldn’t bear lying to his brother any longer, and came clean in record time (for this show). And then! Dean, although clearly annoyed, took it in stride, and even agreed that maybe trying something new would be worth their time. So nice to see these two beautiful boys grow up a little!! Of course, Dean is not giving the Brits one iota of wiggle room, and made Sam agree that if they step out of line even a little, they’re out. Relevant quote: Dean – “We hate them. Us. Together.”
• Davy Perez, one of the newest writers in staff, wrote this episode, and it is clear that he is either a fan of the show, or has done his homework in regard to tone and pace. In fact, this is his third episode, and he has done excellent work all around. I don’t know how much credit to give the writer for Lucifer in this episode, as Mark Pellegrino is superb as our favorite Lucifer of them all, but his scenes were stand-outs, almost eclipsing Sam and Dean (I know! I can’t believe I’m saying it!!).
• Dean gets all gooey at the thought of koalas. Of course he does! Dean is the hard-on-the-outside with the gooey center of this show.
• There sure were a lot of Thank You’s towards and around Crowley tonight. Maybe the WInchesters and Crowley really are rubbing off on each other. (dirty!)

Next! Mick goes on a hunt with the boys. Claire is somehow involved. FUN.