As much as I enjoy Cole, this hour felt a bit like, well, just another hour to pass the time as the season builds toward its finale. The stakes weren’t really all that high, and the monster was something we’d seen before. Yes, the Khan worm was responsible for Dean killing his own cousin, along with Rufus’ death, but in this hour, it seemed more like a nuisance, eventually killing a man we never really knew or cared about.

However, it did give us Cole’s new Winchester nick names—Dean-o and Sammy Boy—and make Sam realize something about the Mark of Cain, so it was by no means a waste. It was simply a filler episode, but at least it was enjoyable, right?

We kick things off in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where an army private is hanged upside down … until her throat is slit. Back at the bunker, Dean comes across the story while Sam looks at porn Biblical and Far-East Studies. According to the newspaper, the victim’s organs were drained, and her bones were sucked dry of all their marrow. In other words, this is definitely a case for the Winchesters.

On the drive to North Carolina, adorable Sam is using his smart phone to look for answers about the Mark of Cain, when Dean finally calls his little brother out. As Dean sees it, now’s the time in the Mark of Cain case where they have to face the truth, even if they don’t like it. No, there’s no way around the Mark of Cain. They saw what it did to Cain. But Dean tells Sam that he needs to keep doing what they do—saving people, hunting things, etc.—while he still can. And he asks Sam to be there with him. You know, live in the moment and all that. Sam agrees, for now. (Well, he at least doesn’t argue.)

Once in North Carolina—where Sam and Dean seem to have perfected the “feds” look—the Winchesters learn that the killer in the case, Rick, lit himself on fire after killing the private. For the military town, it marks the third suicide in six months. And when Sam and Dean meet with the killer’s wife, she informs them that Rick, who’d recently returned from war, had been incredibly thirsty as of late. He’d even gone so far as to drink bath water. Plus, his skin had really dried out. (Winter, am I right?)

And when a nearby soldier named Kit starts exhibiting the same symptoms, Sam and Dean meet with Kit’s wife, Gemma. And that brings us to the hour’s reunion. Outside of Gemma’s house, Cole’s leaning against Dean’s baby when he informs them that he’s kind of sort of besties with Kit. So if they have any plans to “hunt” his best friend, they better change them.

Hopping in Baby’s back seat, Cole says he can get them some necessary military intelligence to help with the case. And in turn, Sam buys Cole dinner.

So as the guys eat, Kit finds himself in a nearby gas station. Looking a bit rough—if I do say so—Kit starts drinking all the water he can get his hands on. And when a clerk tries to stop him, Kit slits his throat … and then licks his blood off the floor. Yeah, even vampires would be ashamed of that move, buddy.

Enduring enjoying their dinner together, Sam, Dean, and Cole start to chat when Cole gets an encrypted email, helpfully titled “Encrypted Email.” You know, in case you were wondering. Apparently, Rick and Kit’s mission in Iraq had been to rescue an American prisoner of war. And let’s just say that the prisoner of war wasn’t exactly excited to see Rick and Kit when they arrived.

So what was with the POW? We’ll have to wait and find out, because the guys are called to Kit’s latest crime scene. And when Gemma calls to check in on Cole, she informs him that Kit is probably at his dad’s old cabin. However, knowing how much the Winchester brothers like killing monsters, Cole withholds that information, getting Dean to drop him back off at Gemma’s house. Only, instead of going inside, he hops in his car to go save his friend. Twist? The Winchesters are always one step ahead. They follow Cole to the cabin.

NEXT: Cole finally appreciates Dean-o

Once inside, Cole finds Kit … and the world’s worst earworm—the Khan worm. Correction: He finds multiple Khan worms. After one worm crawls into Cole’s mouth, another falls out of Kit’s mouth, with a third still inside. Seriously, how many Khan worms can one person take? Actually, I don’t want to know.

After a brief scuffle, Kit escapes, and Sam agrees to go after him. Meanwhile, Dean-o stays with Cole, who finally realizes what a national treasure the so-called “Machete Brothers” are. As Cole puts it, Sam and Dean are saving people from things they can’t even imagine all the time. At least Cole got a medal for his service. What do the Winchesters get? (To be fair, God knows their names, so that’s pretty cool.) And to think—Cole nearly killed Dean. And who’d be saving him now if he had? Yep, it’s safe to say we can welcome Cole to the “Winchesters Rock” club.

Although Cole’s admiration doesn’t last long, because Dean has a plan to get the Khan worm out: electrocution.

Dean electrocutes Cole–and his “Strength to Courage” tattoo—three times. And when it nearly kills the guy, they come up with another plan. If the Khan worm needs hydration, then they’ll dry it out. And suddenly, Dean is turning the cabin into a sweat lodge, and Cole is living out every woman’s fantasy. But really, who wears a shirt in a sweat lodge, Dean?! This is not how I pictured it in my head … not that I have or anything.

Back at Gemma’s house, Kit starts to attack his wife just as Sam enters and knocks the possessed man out with a vase. And while Sam tries to explain what’s happening to Gemma—say it with us, Gemma, “Khan worm”—Dean and Cole talk about Cole’s father back at the sweat lodge. Cole finally understands why Dean did what he did, and as Cole informs him, if the worm wins, he would like Dean to kill him, too. But Dean isn’t giving up so easily.

Request: Can someone record Dean’s “yes you can” speech for me to put on my iPod at the gym? Now that’s a motivational coach I’d listen to.

Sam, still trying to explain himself—when will they just look at someone and say, “I”m a Winchester, dammit”?—loses focus long enough for Kit to break free. You can probably picture the scuffle that happens next.

However, at the same time, Cole and Dean are fighting. But before things get too out of hand, the worm crawls out of Cole, and Dean steps on it. Dean calls Sam with the good news, and Sam delivers bad news in return: It’s too late for Kit. They had to shoot him.

At the end of their time together, Cole tells Sam that he understands what happens to Kit, and he’s not mad. Quite frankly, the poor guy just wants to go home. Cole’s final goodbye? Telling the Winchesters he hopes to never see them again. Yeah, I kind of hope the opposite.