Hello, dear readers.

Let me welcome you to my version of “Winchester Wednesday,” wherein I will blog weekly about angels, demons, and all things hunter as each episode of season 9 airs. For simplicity’s sake, I will give a recap of each episode (spoilers will be had, darling) and my reactions/thoughts to the current season.

So without any further ado, let’s discuss the first episode of Supernatural season 9: “I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here.” (And oh boy, does that title have a different significance after the end of the episode). Two things before I get started with the recap: (1) I apologise for any blathering, dithering or ranting in this post. I just finished the premiere about 10 minutes ago and my feels are running amok. Like demons. (2) J2 WATCHED THE PREMIERE TOGETHER. And my heart melted from cuteness.

The Recap *SPOILERS*

The Winchesters

The season opens up with Sam and Dean in the Impala, just as it should be. Except it isn’t. DUH DUH DUH. Sam is in a coma, and the Impala scenes are his coma-dreams. Dean is in the hospital, sitting at his brother’s bedside, and the doc ain’t bringing good news. Looks like the younger Winchester’s expiration date is near at hand, but Dean won’t buy that spiel. In his mind, they’ve beaten hell and death and a couple dozen other impossible things and there’s no reason to give up now. This brings me to the point where I first cried–and it was in the first five minutes of the episode (somehow, I have a feeling that this season is going to destroy any emotional stability I had left). Dean Winchester, the man who would stab an Angel of the Lord before trusting one, heads to a chapel to pray. This is a remarkable demonstration of faith from a man who isn’t “much for the prayer thing.” He first prays to Castiel, who isn’t able to answer (more on that in a minute), and when his prayer is unanswered, he pretty much sends out a mass text to every angel anywhere. This lets us in on two things (1) Dean is really f**king desperate to save Sam and (2) the angels have a gilded invitation to the Winchesters’ location. Some celestiel dick shows up and attempts to force Dean into “helping” him (no rapey subtext there at all), but luckily for the hunter, another angel with better intentions shows up to save him.

Ezekiel (Battlestar Galactica‘s Tahmoh Penikett) claims to be there to help Sam (according to Cas, Zeke was a “good soldier), and Dean has reached that point of desperation where he will do anything to save his brother (remember that one time he sold his soul?). Ezekiel gives Dean a glimpse on what is going on in baby brother’s comatose mind, which pushes him to agree to an absolutely insane plan to save Sam.

Meanwhile in Sam Winchester‘s head, we are finally glimpsing the repressed guilt and self-loathing that has been stocking up over the past few seasons. The writers have done an exceptional job of building on past story lines. Remember all that shit that went down in season 5? Well, it’s still biting the Winchesters in their delectably muscular behinds. Sam’s dreams of Dean and Bobby represent to warring sides of himself. The dream Dean (don’t we all want one of those) Sam recognises as the part of himself that wants to fight Death. The dream Bobby is his dream death mentor, as it were, the part of him that is guiding himself into acceptance of his own demise. Once Sam reconciles the two halves of himself, he finds himself face-to-face with creepy old man Death. Death tells Sam that it is ultimately his choice on whether or not he wants to go, but that he is “honored” with the task of taking someone like Sam Winchester.

This was another moment where I brought out my Kleenex. As we found out in the season 8 finale, Sam is having serious doubts about himself. He views himself as a screw-up, and as the brother of the Righteous Man, he feels decidedly unholy in comparison. So when Death tells Sam, “Well played, my boy,” it’s an affirmation that Sam has made a difference.

Oh boy, there are my feels, being kicked by SPN for the first time this season.

And then Dean appears in Sam’s dream again. Except it isn’t “dream Dean” this time. Sam is ready to accept Death, but Dean isn’t ready to give up on his brother, and he plays the Winchester Guilt card. “There ain’t no me if there ain’t no you.” (There are my feels getting kicked again.) And while we all know this to be true, we quickly realize that it was a trick to gain Sam’s acquiescence so Ezekiel could possess his freaking body. Poor Sam was lied to and he didn’t even know it. I don’t like to conjecture, but I better half my soul and an entire cherry pie that this is going to be the source of some major conflicts this season. Cue trust issues between the brothers (again).

Castiel

Welcome back, Misha Collins. It’s nice to have you as a series regular again.

Poor Castiel. Nothing he ever does turns out right, even if he has good intentions. We find Cas on the side of the road, mortal and alone. He’s picked up by a good Samaritan–some kind people are left in the world after all–and he encounters his first fallen angel kindred: Hale. Turns out Cas is still tuned into “angel radio” but has no Grace left (stop kicking my feels, SPN). As a spokesperson of Team Free Will, he encourages Hale to follow her own path and do what she wants for the first time…ever. She decides she wants to see the Grand Canyon and asks him to accompany her.

Awww, family road trip! How cute, right?

Not really.

Castiel calls Dean (there go the feels again) and explains briefly that Metatron tricked him and he no longer has Grace. Dean tells him to forget his angelic sister and get his non-angelic backside to the bunker. Pronto. Hale decides she doesn’t like this plan and smacks Cas upside the head with a two-by-four and kidnaps him.

Seems like the Heavenly Host is more than a little angry with Castiel for getting them evicted. (Sidenote: Dean didn’t give up Cas’s location even when getting beat by an angel. Cue the awwwws). Cas eventually escapes from Hale by crashing her car; she threatens to tattle his location to all their brothers, and he stabs her in the chest. Sibling love.

Covered in blood, feeling pain, and hungry for the first time ever, Cas goes to a laundromat. He has a choice: clean his clothes or buy food and water.

Yup, the trenchcoat is gone. And THAT made me sadder than almost anything else in Cas’s storyline. Ever. Human!Cas is going to require an adjustment period, but because it’s Misha Collins, I think I’ll move on pretty quickly. Can’t help but love the quirky former-angel with zero social skills.

What Happens Next?

Oh boy. I’m still so worked up over the premiere that I really cannot string together an intelligent theory for how this season is going to go. I have some ideas, but for now, I’m going to just be content that my favorite show has returned at last. Theories and conjectures can wait. I’m gonna go watch the premiere again.

Here we go, y’all. Season 9 of Supernatural is underway.

Until next week, my darlings.

~The Collectress

Disclaimer: I don’t any of the images or edits. Or Supernatural. If I did, I’d be watching the show with J2 right now.

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