Episode 09×03 AKA the Episode Where Cas Loses “It”

We all knew this episode was coming, and I think most of us half-anticipated/half-dreaded it. But, in case you’ve been living under a rock, here’s the biggest spoiler in last night’s episode: Cas is no longer a virgin. Yup, he finally gave it up (no, not to Dean. Settle down, Destiel shippers) and he is beginning to realize what being a human is all about.

Dean’s Best One-Liner

Dean had a lot of really fun, sarcastic quips, but this was my favorite:

“I read ‘pie.’ The rest is just blah blah blah.”

Synopsis

This episode had a lot of feels in it, so please forgive any ranting, raving, or spontaneous weeping that occurs.

We all knew that Castiel’s transition to humanity wasn’t going to be easy, but I, for one, didn’t realize how much goes into being mortal. Neither did Castiel. He’s on the run, and it doesn’t appear like he’s running to the Winchesters (Dean, you told him to meet you at the bunker, but did you give him an address???). We see Castiel struggle with hunger, homelessness, and fear as he realizes for the first time that yes, he can get hurt.

Cas has been living in a homeless shelter and doing yard work while the Winchesters were out flirting with Abaddon. He’s going by the name Clarence–which is simultaneously amusingly ironic and slightly tragic–and he’s trenchcoat-less. [insert weeping and donning of sackcloth and ashes] His angel brethren aren’t too happy with him, but for all of Cas’s adorable naivety and innocence, it’s important to remember that he’s been a warrior for the past few thousand years, so when an angel corners him in an abandoned bus, Cas ganks that sucker and walks away with just a scratch. Dean would be proud.

Now that he knows he’s Heaven’s Most Wanted, he runs away to Detroit (Really Cas, Detroit? The Most Dangerous City in America?) where he meets a seeming Good Samaritan named April. [cue the moment when a thousand fangirls screamed at their telly’s “But she’s not worthy!”] Good Samaritan April takes him home because, hey, that’s what Good Samaritans do, right? Take home strange homeless men who talk about stabbing people? So she takes him home, cleans him up, and seduces him in the cheesiest soft music, fade-to-black way possible.

I’m not going to dwell on that anymore than I have to.

Meanwhile the Winchesters, meaning Dean, have made it top priority to find their angel. They go on a merry little hunt and discover that there’s a new King of the Assbutts in town by the name of Bartholomew, who reminds me very much of season 7’s Dick Roman. The King of the Assbutts has been putting angels into vessels via the influence of a television preacher, vessels that don’t always live through the experience of being pumped full of angelic grace. He’s also hired a Reaper to follow the Winchesters in hopes of finding Castiel. Dean and Sam take care of the Reaper easy-peasy because really, what’s one reaper in comparison to the head Leviathan, Lucifer, a pissed of archangel, or Death himself?

Eventually, Dean calls on Ezekiel the Hidden Angel to help locate Castiel. Castiel who is currently tied up and tortured by his new girlfriend who is also a fucking reaper. It seems that Cas has also adopted the traditional Winchester taste in terrible women. Anyway, in the most emotionally traumatic moment of the episode, Sam and Dean rush in to save the day but find themselves helpless as April stabs Castiel to death. The look on Dean’s face is so heartwrenchingly awful that I can’t even remember to cheer when he ganks that reaper lady mere seconds later (nobody kills Dean’s angel and gets away with it).

Ezekiel revives Castiel (featuring an adorbs moment when Dean rushes to Castiel’s side when he returns to consciousness) and it all seems to be Happy Days back at the bunker until it isn’t. Ezekiel throws a hissy fit and gives Dean an ultimatum: either Castiel goes or he does. If Zeke leaves, Sam dies. If Cas leaves, he will probably die.

And the episode fades out on Dean’s words, “We need to talk.”

Sounds a bit like a break-up, doesn’t it?

What This Episode Reveals About the Winchesters

Dean is up to his ears in lies. Lies to Sam, lies to Cas, and probably lies to himself too. He’s trying to play big brother and protector by keeping it all to himself, but really, that’s never ended well for him in the past. This week’s episode showed us that he’s desperate to keep his family safe, and I can’t help but see Dean from earlier seasons reemerging. The poor man has a guilt complex, and I don’t think this season will be any easier on him.

Sam, well, Sam has a strange case of dual personalities. Let me applaud Jared Padalecki for his astonishing switch between personas because damn he goes back and forth between Ezekiel and Sam in fractions of a second. Like Dean so aptly stated, it’s going to give us whiplash (but at the same time, it’s oh so cool that Padalecki has the acting chops to pull it off so brilliantly).

The Big Picture

Ezekiel has a secret. He doesn’t want the angels to know his location, so he outs Castiel to protect himself. Zeke isn’t altruistic; he wants something from the Winchesters, and whatever it is, it’s going to change a helluva a lot. Still, the angel can’t be all bad. He did save Cas, after all.

Also, it appears that Cas may get his grace back sometime in the future. The showrunners have shown us that Cas’s grace is in a vial in Metatron’s possession, and wouldn’t it be convenient for Cas to steal that back…as Cas said, his grace was the key to closing the gates of Heaven. Maybe it will be the key for reopening them too.

My Favorite Scene

This beginning scene around the breakfast table was equal parts adorable and impressive. I love domestic Dean, and I love Jared Padalecki’s snap switch to Zeke. J-Pad, you’re awesome.

Next week Felicia Day returns as Charlie!

-The Collectress

Disclaimer: I don’t own any images or film clips used in this post. If I did, I’d be braiding J-Pad’s hair instead of blogging on my lunch break.

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