A filler episode, if you will, with a pinch of actual Winchester resolution. Also. Dean hates witches and is allergic to teh kittehs.

The long and short  of it, there is a witch who is a good guy (Detective James Frampton), who seems to have turned into a bad guy, but is really under the control of another witch (the evil Spencer), and he is jealous and hateful and all that, especially of James’ familiar, a companion by the name of Portia. But, he does help Sam and Dean get back on brotherly track, so there’s that.

The reason I am being incredibly brief in the recap is because I stumbled upon something while perusing the fan forums about this episode, and I was kind of surprized by it. There were many calls of racism about this episode, and I suddenly wondered if I was an insensitive white girl immune to obvious racism because of my being raised in White Bread, USA. Or, were these people just so bitter and annoyed with the long-in-the-tooth show that they will find any reason to get all cranky and pissy about ANYTHING that happens on this show.

*sigh* When  you spell it out, a black, female actress is playing the part of a Familiar, who turns into a dog, who calls her witch Master, and is having sex with him… well, it seems a little seedy. But to me she was a strong female character who was not only in love with James, but he was in love with her. So much so he trusted her to put him in shackles. Their relationship came off as a not that unusual type of relationship between strong people in love, and the fact that the actress who played Portia happened to be black was just that. She happened to be black. I don’t know, maybe I am a secret racist. Maybe I am used to Supernatural being such a Whitey McWhiterton cast show that any person of color who shows up is a pleasure, no matter the circumstances. Of course I remember people crying racism against this show a few seasons back, because it seemed that for a while every black character died a horrible death. Those fans conveniently forgot that pretty much EVERYONE on this show dies a horrible death, regardless of race or sex, so they could get up on their high horses and proclaim that was the reason they were no longer watching the show.

I have no answer to any of this, of course. Race is such a touchy issue no matter what. But I am going on the record as saying that while I don’t think the intention was racist, maybe we should look a little closer at what is okay and not okay from time to time. But also sometimes just the best actor gets the job, and a part that was originally written for ANY actress doesn’t mean it is suddenly racist because a woman of color got the job. Besides, the character does a little dress-down of Dean addressing his “ignorant bigotry” pretty much right after they meet each other. Tricky, I tell ya’.

Back to the actual show, and the continuing story of the angst-ridden brothers known as The Winchesters, we got even more resolution to the Sam takes on the trials and Dean wanting to do them stuff. I mean, we used to have to endure months of these two being dummies and keeping angsty secrets from one another, and in one episode we get this:

Sammy: “I know what you’re saying. You know, I have been going over this and over this, asking myself, why doesn’t he trust me? And it occurred to me finally, it’s not that you don’t trust me, it’s that you only trust you.”

Oh, snap! But at the end of the episode, after the evil witch Spencer give those beautiful boys a not-so-delightful recap of all the horrors they have been through, we get this:

Dean: “You know, when I look back at what our family has been through, what everybody has been through – seen all that pain – I realized the only way we made through it all was by hangin’ together. I trust you, Sammy. With this deal, locking up those sons of bitches in the furnace once and for all, it’s too important not too. So, if you say your good, then that’s it. I’m with you 100%.”

Awwwww. Of course right after that Sammy hacks his guts out and hides a bloody nose from Dean, but… PROGRESS! Really…

Quotes!

Portia: “Why don’t you lose the ignorant bigotry for two seconds and give him a chance.” Dean: “That was pretty hot.” Sammy: “Pretty hot…”

Dean: “Understandable, considering that you’re a… well, and that he’s… a little help here? No?”

Sammy: “Oh, gotta hand it to ya. Its been 15 hours since Portia mentioned her night with James, and not one bestiality mention out of you.”

Sammy: “I’m good.” *hackhackhack*

Next episode: GODS.