After spinning their wheels for the better part of the season, the Winchesters finally received a break last week when the Word of God presented them with the formula needed to take Tricky Dick Roman down. Despite gathering one of the four ingredients necessary for the weapon when Castiel provided them the blood of a fallen angel, there are still three more to go and not much time to find them.
Speaking of Tricky Dick, he’s being interviewed by Gloria Jane and they talk about his company’s exploits, most recently his foray into fast foods. Mr. Dick explains his angle though his slight faux pas regarding his food keeping Americans “tasting better” lays out his true purpose for all to see. After tapping Gloria’s position to be the next one held by a Leviathan, Dick has a conversation with the prophet Kevin, delivered to Dick by Edgar, his right hand man. He requests Kevin to translate the Word for him and when a letter of recommendation to Princeton doesn’t work, he shows Kevin’s mom trussed up with a knife at her throat. Yeah, Dick is quite good at doing business.
Holed up in the cabin, Sam and Dean are trying to figure out the next plan of action. “Kill the head and the body will flounder” Dean quotes from the notes Kevin provided but they don’t quite know where to start. They get an assist from an invigorated yet not looking too hot Bobby gives them the low down on two of the remaining three ingredients, which include the blood of an Alpha and that of Crowley, the current King of Hell. Dean explains to Bobby the problem with obtaining blood of an Alpha (they were all thought to be flash fried by Cas in season six’s “Mommy Dearest”) and their ghostly uncle suggests tapping Crowley for help. Dean relays the conversation with Bobby to Sam who mentions Dick’s current exploration into fast food when Bobby refocuses them on the task at hand. With a bit of blood and Latin, they summon Crowley who volunteers his blood but only if it’s last on the list and he provides them the location of the vampire Alpha, who’s holed up in North Dakota.
Kevin finishes up translating the text for Dick and Edgar is dispatched to visit “an old friend”. At a gas station, Sam and Dean talk about Bobby and him closing in on becoming a vengeful spirit; it’s here in the convenience store when Dean realizes peeps are not all there. The patrons are listlessly mulling about the store and the brothers surmise the corn syrup is the problem. Still focused on the job, they end up scouting the vamp’s nest but Bobby jumps in. The brothers follow only to find the dead bodies of vampires. They find a hidden room where a girl is holed up. Her name is Emily and she’s been living with the vampires since she was 8, and is the Alpha’s special one, a delicacy as a virgin. She tells them about hearing the vampires dying from eating three docile humans they brought back and tells them of the Alpha’s retreat. Though she doesn’t remember the address, she offers her help.
The one live vampire returns and Edgar is there; he takes the vampire’s form and reads its thoughts of the Alpha’s location. The boys see more of the ‘docile drones’, those hopped up on Dick’s special concoction and end up taking the blood of a fat guy with the slushie. Sam says Bobby will need to hang back when they confront the Alpha while Emily leads them to a monastery in Missoula, Montana. They put her up in a motel along with the flask but Little Miss Sunshine is in cahoots with her Daddy Dearest Alpha.
The brothers are ambushed after Emily’s call. Meanwhile, Bobby continues to fume at every image he sees of Dick, to the point of hijacking the maid and going on his way. Back at the monastery, Winchesters are taken to the Alpha who thinks he and Dick are on good terms. Sam gives him the lowdown on Tricky Dick and the poison he’s putting in people that are deadly to vampires. It seems the Alpha doesn’t believe them but his curiosity is definitely peaked. When Edgar’s arrival is announced, he has the brothers locked in the study. Meanwhile Alpha confronts Edgar about the dying vampires…he of course denies but Alpha realizes Sam and Dean were telling the truth. As Edgar and the Alpha face off, with Edgar admitting to the Leviathan plan to rid the world of all other monsters, Sam and Dean escape and end up coming to the Alpha’s rescue, hacking Edgar’s head off. For their help, the Alpha gives them his blood and the boy who he was to raise as his child. As they reluctantly leave, he offers a “see you next season”, a possible hint at a plotline for next year. The boys get back to the room and find it in shambles and realize Bobby’s gone. They want to look for him but know they need to complete the weapon—Dean’s not too joyous about their chances of success. “What could go wrong” he asks rhetorically…well, Dick summons Crowley and holds him in a devil’s trap. Yeah, things are going a bit more wrong than you think, Dean.
Where to begin? How about Bobby? Despite him sliding towards the point of no return, he’s still an invaluable asset to the Winchesters, providing them the necessary details to forge the weapon against the Leviathan. And while Sam and Dean have two-thirds of the necessary blood ingredients, Dick’s ‘capture’ of Crowley doesn’t bode too well for our heroes. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the social commentary on the food industry and the slop we tend to ingest (me along with the rest of them). We believe these stories of companies and execs like Tricky Dick who always have motives that go beyond doing it “for America and the people”. Count me to one looking forward to Dick getting his comeuppance.
If you missed the previous episode be sure to read our ‘Supernatural: Reading Is Fundamental’ recap to catch up.
The Good:
- It comes as no surprise now for this section to list Mark Sheppard whenever he returns to Supernatural. Though he had quite an abbreviated role, it’s still Mark Sheppard.
- Speaking of performances, Rick Worthy of Battlestar Galactica fame, is deliciously sinister as the Alpha vampire. He has a subtlety befitting a monster whose lifespan is measured in thousands of years.
The Bad:
- The big throw down I was expecting between Alpha and Leviathan was extremely disappointing. A push and shove here, it was like two guys on the playground that are scared to fight because they’ll get detention. I wanted to see just how strong an Alpha was against something as ancient as a Leviathan…
- While it was of the good seeing Mark Sheppard back, he had such a bit role that it was easy to forget he’d even returned. Here’s hoping he has a bigger part in the season finale.
The Supernatural:
- It was a welcome treat to have an Alpha still alive and kicking. As he said to the Winchesters, “see you next season”. Is that a hint to his inclusion into next season’s story arc? Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
