So what’s a former angel to do sans grace and nowhere to go? How about Rexford, Idaho as Sales Associate Steve at a nice li’l quickie mart? That’s where our Castiel resides, the model employee, “special” as his manager Nora points out. But that’s not all that’s going down in Rexford. The show starts when a suicide hotline operator trying to talk a man down from killing himself. After he hangs up, he puts a gun to his head but can’t go through with it, setting the revolver back in the drawer. But an angel is in the house and puts a palm to his head, vaporizes him into a magenta spray across the walls.

In the bunker, Kevin’s finished translating the angel tablet though he’s only been able to work it out into Elomite cuneiform, a language just so happens to be deader than the folks that used it. It’s time for some research using the Encyclopedia of Extinct languages (all 24 volumes). Dean’s saved from the laborious task when Cas gives him a call about the potential case. He hits the scene and takes in the vaporized victim’s home while Cas says yes when Nora asks him out. Dean calls to give Sam a head’s up on the case before suggesting using their very own Hell King on a leash for some translation advice. Elsewhere in Rexford, a teenage girl laments to her friend about being dumped and ends up suffering the same magenta vaporization.

Meet Cas, Sales Associate (who goes by Steve now)

Sam takes Dean’s advice and asks Crowley for help. It’s no surprise when the Crossroads Demon refuses, even after Sam threatens handing him over to Abaddon.  He won’t budge, doing his very best impression of a 6 year old tantrum, folding his arms in petulance. In Rexford, Dean stops in on Cas to see how he’s doing, trying to show his former bestie that this life is far below his station. Cas sees the “dignity” behind this new human life, no matter how mundane things look to the hunter. In the end, he capitulates, accompanying Dean to the scene of the school girl explosion. It doesn’t take him long to recognize the culprit. “Dean, this is bad…this is very bad.”

Bad comes with a name: Aritizia. Translated as Hands of Mercy, these were the angels of the battlefield that sought out the injured, healing the ones they could and ending the suffering of the ones that were beyond their means to help. Cas understands this particular angel is whacked out by the cacophony of emotions humans give up. “You gotta stop him,” Cas implores…before asking for a ride to his date. Dean gives him the ride, even offering some dating tips before sending the former angel on his way. Unfortunately, when he gets there, Cas realizes he wasn’t asked on a date but as a babysitter. It’s a job he’s pretty dang good at, even busting out an impressive vocalization of ‘The Greatest American Hero’ theme song (“Believe it or not, I’m walking on air”) to calm down the crying baby. Dean’s meeting with the Sheriff after the latter tells him the DNA from one of the crime scenes was of the wife only; when he sees the husband, Dean recognizes the pick-up as the one in front of Nora’s house. Cas finds out the hard way when, after catching wind of the baby’s fever, steps outside to cool her off and finds the Hand of Mercy waiting at the door.

Sam takes a second go at Crowley, who’s softened his stance, so long as he gets a phone call. Kevin’s not too crazy about the idea until Crowley proves his worth and they give him some of Kevin’s blood to place a call to Abaddon.

Crowely will help but only after a bit of quid pro quo…

There is no love lost in their conversation, the Knight of Hell brazenly admits to collecting souls and invalidating the deals Crowley has made. He’s more than a little pissed at Abaddon’s overt coup and ends up translating the text for Sam and Kevin. It’s not good news as he tells them there’s no way to reverse the spell. The new world order’s here to stay.

Back in Rexford, Cas talks to the angel who he remembers as Ephraim. He wants to wash away all suffering on the planet, starting with the beacon of pain broadcasting from Castiel. Dean tries for the save but is thrown away, most likely concussed again. Ephraim is ready to take Cas’s pain; “By choosing a human life, you choose death.” But Cas wants to live, and when a barely conscious Dean slides the angel blade over to Cas, the human-turned-angel slams it through Ephraim’s chest.

In the aftermath, Sam relays Crowley’s translation to Dean while Nora and Cas talk. He apologizes for being overly concerned when he called her about the baby but she tells him the part of him that cares so much is what makes him special. She offers him a smile that whispers at something more but Cas is in his own world. He gets into the car with Dean and when the elder Winchester asks him “Where to,” Castiel wordlessly gets into the car. While Sam watches Crowley inject himself with a syringe of Kevin’s blood, Cas tells Dean that he wants to help his angelic brethren. Dean knows it’s a futile effort but steers his friend away, telling him it’s not his problem. Castiel returns to his sales associate job as ‘Steve’, though his eyes take in the sky, aspiring for something more.

Angels and Demons

  • So there’s no going home for the Heavenly Host. What will that mean for our world and how long will it be before Castiel finds out? There’s only one way things can change. Carver Edlund aka the All Powerful, where are you?
  • What’s Crowley doing? Does shooting up human blood give him a line to his humanity? Or is there something more to his actions? Judging by his reaction after the injection, I do believe it’s the former. The question becomes what ends up happening to the King of One-Liners? I don’t see him permanently throwing on a White Hat but he could end up being a frienemy the Winchesters could truly use.

What are your thoughts? Leave them in the comments below!