The first hellatus is over, and I spent some of my weekend watching the first eight episodes of the season. I have some theories about where Andrew Dabb and crew are going to take us, but you know my terrible record with predictions. I will say that I hope my predictions are wrong, because I, of course, have my own ideas on how this show should end. 🙂

NOW

Chuck is getting drunk in Reno.

Eileen is on a hunt, when Sam shows up, just in time to almost screw it all up. It’s cute that Sam is being protective, but Eileen is all, not necessary.

Sam and Eileen are having a meal, when Dean shows and drags out the demon tablet from storage. Dean is convinced that there has to be something in there to help them with Chuck, and sends Cass off to fetch Donatello. Donatello is not happy, worried he will go mad again, but after being mildly threatened, and then bribed with chicken wings, he relents, and takes a crack at the tablet.

Donatello deciphers some asides stuck in there by Metatron, and after some speculation and  brainstorming, the boys finally ask the question: Are Michael and Adam Crazy? The entities who told them this info (Chuck and Lucifer) aren’t the most reliable of sorts! Maybe they could hop on down to hell and talk to Michael, since he was the one who helped Chuck lock up Amara all those millennia ago.

This is the moment when Chuck takes over poor Donatello to warn the boys that he knows what they’re up to, and if they don’t stop, he will start picking off their favorites, like Jody, Donna, Eileen, etc. The boys have no idea that he’s already adios-ed Becky, but the audience knows he’s not joking around here.

After sending Donatello on his way, the boys cast a spell that sends them to hell in search of a hopefully not crazy Michael, and Oh Hey, their brother Adam as well!!.

Look at this gif! Castiel heals Dean after he does the ol’ cut my hand, drip the blood into the bowl thing. They are THIS CLOSE to making up.

Eileen, who seems to have moved into the bunker to maybe (definitely!!) smooch with Sam, keeps watch over the spell, and Skypes with an old hunter pal about maybe helping out with clearing out some vampires before they get all settled and nested. Eileen says she is busy at the moment, but will be happy to help out if she’s free when it all goes down.

The boys wander through the halls of hell, and are attacked by three badass demons, who do a pretty good job of whooping each any every one of their asses. Just as they are about to take out our trio, a familiar voice tells them to stand down, “Hello, boys.”

ROWENA!

(Enjoy this fan made gif collection with what Sammy said back at the beginning of season 14)

Of course, Rowena has taken the reins of hell, dressed in a fierce red jumpsuit, and sitting on a pointy backed throne. She is the Queen of Hell, and tells the boys that Michael probably adios-ed with everyone else when the place was torn open by Chuck.

Rowena sends some demons to make sure the Michael cage is empty, and takes a moment to tell Dean and Cass to figure out their beef, and get past it. Regret will eat you alive, and she wants her boys to be free to get back to work without any issues clogging up the works.

(That is all subtext, really, but I think its an important point, and I am looking forward to the scene where Dean and Cass finally talk about their feelings on this!)

Meanwhile, Adam/Michael is (are?) topside, and Micheal is letting Adam enjoy some earthly delights, like cheeseburgers and pizza as they chitty chat about what to do next, now that they’re free. They are weirdly not crazy at all!!

In fact, not only are they not crazy, but they have made a deal to work together, since they are stuck with each other, and they seem pretty reasonable to me!

Anyhoo, Lilith shows up, and tries to threaten Michael to go with her, because Chuck wants a word, but Michael is all, NOPE. Father can come find him if he wants to talk so badly. When Lilith tries to insist, Michael simply smites her, leaving a pile of ash, and then handily snaps the memory out of the minds of everyone who happened to witness the smiting.

Bye bye, Lilith! Good riddance!!

Back in the bunker, Dean calls Donatello, asking him is there’s been any God-like power surges that might clue them in on Michael’s whereabouts. Donny says no, but once Michael smites Lilith, Donny calls back, and tells Dean that Michael is all over the place!

Michael finally lands in Cairo, and Dean realizes that catching Michael is not gonna be easy, so Castiel sits in the chess corner of the bunker, and quietly prays to Michael.

Cass meets Michael in some warehouse, and after asking if he remembers him – “You called me ass-butt and set me on fire. And then you helped send me to Hell.” (he remembers) – Cass traps Mike in a ring of holy fire, and Sam and Dean join Cass, as they show him the angel cuffs they will use to restrain him.

Once they have him housed in the bunker, the boys try to tell Michael about all the stuff that’s gone down since that day in the cemetery. Micheal is pretty sure that Chuck is a good guy, and the Winchesters + Cass are the liars. They’re not any better than God, as they left Adam in cage, just like Chuck left him.

Welp, he’s not wrong!!

But Sam mea culpa’s, and Adam thinks the Winchester’s are straight shooters, but it takes an angelic info dump from Castiel to get Michael to change his mind about “Dad.”

MEANWHILE

Eileen’s hunter friend sends an alarming video message, and Eileen and Sam spirit away in search of her friend. They end up in a parking garage, which looks suspiciously NOT like a vampires nest. When the friend appears from behind a column, Eileen breathes a heavy sigh of relief. But just as soon as everyone stops holding their breaths, the friend poofs and it turns out it was Chuck all along!

Dammit, Chuck!!!

A clearly heartbroken Michael is now on board (He’s not even the only Michael! Ha, that’s so Michael-like), he recites the ingredients for the Lock Him Up spell, almost all of them easy to procure. Except for the Leviathan Blossom that is needed to bind the spell, which only grows in – you guessed it – Purgatory!

Michael opens a rift, as Dean clearly dreads the prospect of returning to Purgatory. Michael tells Dean and Cass they have twelve hours to get in and out, and then peaces out, right after Dean apologizes to Adam. Which is kind and sweet, and when Adam returns the apology with “Since when do we get what we deserve?”, I am all kinds of sad. Because that seems to be the mantra of the Winchesters (Mary said something similar after she was brought back in whatever season that was.).

Well, it’s been a long time coming, but I really love how they handled the return of Adam. And Jake Abel did a fantastic job of playing both Michael and Adam, proving once again that the casting office for this show knows exactly what they’re doing!

NEXT!  Well, that seems SUPER DARK