An excellent start to Season 5 last night, with a reluctant host for Lucifer, a rift growing between the brothers and demons aplenty running amok.

One of the things I find most fascinating about the show is that while the demons are obviously bad, the angels aren’t so … well, angelic. In fact, the angels that seem to be the  most interested in doing what’s right seem to be on the outs with the angels who are running the show now that God him or herself is AWOL.

If God can be AWOL, I suppose, given that s/he would be the one to grant said leave.

Anyway, I ramble.

First off, w00t! Mark Pellegrino, thanks for joining Supernatural. Now I’ll get to see you on two shows this season, once Lost returns in January.

Second, did you get totally hoodwinked for a moment by Evil Bobby? I sure did. What I didn’t see coming, however, was just how angry Dean was at Sam. But can you blame him? Sam did pretty much betray his brother and team up with a demon who – shock! – was playing him in order to get Lucifer out of Hell.

Now this is the question: Is Lucifer truly bad?

Hey – just remember that Lucifer/Satan/The Devil was an angel. And his fall was not due to his being evil. He just got kicked out of heaven and forced to deal with all the evil souls. While the demons around him are truly demonic (as opposed to the kindler, gentler sorts on Reaper), it stands to reason that the jury is still out on Lucifer’s actual evil-ness.

Sure, he basically tortured that poor soul into letting him use him as his vessel. Reminding a father of how his wife and baby were murdered by some guy who broke into his house is pretty messed up.

Third, thank you, Eric Kripke, for making Castiel still alive. I mean, really. Besides being the only angel so far who’s helped the Winchester brothers, I don’t mind seeing him on screen. And by “don’t mind seeing him,” I mean he’s easy on the eyes. Yeah, I said it.

The angels whom Castiel dispatched are pretty bad dudes. And by “bad dudes,” I don’t mean, “Wow, they’re so cool, they’re BAD,” I mean, “Wow, what assholes.”

I have to admit, I couldn’t completely follow what it meant that Dean is the sword of Michael. I got that he’s the vessel for Michael, but is there actually a sword? I know that sounds hopelessly moronic, but I got a little confused. But I was distracted. I saw something shiny and when I looked back at the screen, the bald angel was breaking Sam’s legs.

Lastly, I love that the prophet’s fan who writes the Sam & Dean gay fan fiction didn’t find Dean to be what she “expected.” Did you see the look on his face? Priceless.