Robbie Thompson rarely disappoints, IMO. “Book of the Damned” did some great things, like getting Charlie and Sam together for some good cathartic release, and putting Castiel and Metatron together in a car. And after the last episode with almost a whole episode of Sam and Dean separated, the Winchesters pretty much stick together in this one. Excellent.

Charlie! Running for her life! Some Bayou SOB is chasing after our ninja-fied Charlie, with a clever little device that seems to be tracking what he wants. AND THEN! Charlie stabs a henchman in the neck! IN THE NECK. Charlie escapes, but not without a bullet in the side.

Back in the bunker, Dean tells Sam everything while wearing sweats. (Is Dean working out? Does Dean work out??) The Mark is a curse. Rowena is Crowley’s mom. And while I think all this sharing is a good thing, Sam seems less than happy about it.

Charlie calls the boys from the last working phone booth in the world, and after telling them she has found the “Book of the Damned”, they plan to meet up at one of Bobby’s cabins.

Dean seems excited for the first time in a long time, and he lets himself dream about taking a real vacation. As tough as Dean has been about the Mark, any little crumb of hope sends him soaring. Its sweet, but we all know the Winchesters will never be on a beach with sand between their toes, and this is SPN. Nothing is every that easy.

We get a bit of history on the book, which is made of a nun’s skin, written in her blood. And Dean can hear it talking to him through the Mark! Eesh. Not only that, but the thing is written in an ancient language that when translated, is also written in code. I  suppose its good to be extra careful with a book full of dark magic spells. But your own skin? *shudders*

Dean figures out it’s the Stein family that is following Charlie, who happen to be awful. And this is where Dean starts shutting down. He insists that the dark magic they’d have to use to remove the Mark would come at too great a price. He wants to destroy the book, because he doesn’t trust himself around it. That’s fair. But this only makes Sam dig his heels in deeper.

Dean heads out for snacks, and Sam tells Charlie the close-the-gates-of-hell story, then Charlie surmises all of season nine in one sentence. Hee. And then Sam and Charlie have a nice moment, and Sam tells all of us how much he loves his brother He never say the word (dammit), but it is a deep moment for Sam, and probably a relief to be able to say those words to someone.

I mean, I’ve been hard on Sammy this season, but look at those tears in his eyes! Poor Sammy.

Jacob Stein, our Bayou SOB, happens to be behind the counter at the snack shop Dean enters, and Dean figures out pretty quick who he is.I always like it when the bad guy talk to Dean like he is some dummy. Oh bad guys, that’s Dean Winchester you’re poking at. That rarely ends well. After some threats and such, Dean goes all bad-ass (aka HAWT), shoots a lot of bullets into these guys, and narrowly escapes.

They follow him straight to the cabin, of course. How many of bobby’s cabins are burned now? Geez, guys. Dean orders Sam to burn the book while he and Charlie fight the bad guys. As the book burns, Sammy takes down Jacob, killing him with a knife. Knives kill these dudes, but bullets don’t. Noted.

In other news, Castiel and Metatron are having the most irritating road trip ever. Metatron will.not. stop talking. So Cas coldcocks him to get him to shut up. Hee.

They end up in a diner, and after Castiel escorts Metatron to the little boys room to assist with some digestion issues, a cupid attacks them for ruining Heaven. Metatron saves Cas, but Cas is not swayed.

Metatron brings Cas to a library in the search for his grace. Metatron asks Cas some pretty good questions about what’s next. He makes some good points, even though he is only trying to save himself. Castiel is decidedly thrown by the existential questions.  As they are looking through the stacks, Metatron uses the blood from his gunshot wound to cast a spell that takes down Castiel. It does a pretty good job of it too. While Cas is writhing on the ground, Metatron has got his hands on the demon tablet and takes off. Cas  finds his grace in the nick of time, and re-graces as Metatron escapes.

Castiel joins the beautiful boys and Charlie back in the bunker. Charlie and Castiel finally meet! It’s as cute as I hoped it would be. Castiel heals Charlie of her bullet wound and her carpal tunnel. Besties.

Sam and Cas lie to Dean about Metatron, about Cas’s grace, and then we see in a flashback that Sam told the biggest lie of them all. Sam didn’t burn that book. He pulled a switcheroo, and is asking Rowena, of all people, to help him use it to remove the Mark.

SAMMY. Geez. Of course she is willing to help. Without the Mark, she can kill Dean.

DAMMIT SAMMY.

Quotes!

Castiel: “Can I kill him now?”

Charlie: “This book is old, and scary, and I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Castiel” “No, I don’t miss digestion.”

Dean: “And you call yourselves nerds. You got this.”

Charlie: “You’re the Dread Pirate Roberts of hunting.”

Charlie: “Whoa, is that who I think it is?” Sam: “Charlie, Cas. Cas, Charlie.” Charlie: “I thought you’d be shorter.

Next! Nothing but bad things, I tell ya’. Bennie, is that you???