Then!

Witches suck.

Now!

We find Dean running through the woods, chasing a witch. Just as Dean catches him, the witch casts a spell that puts our dear Dean into a mighty slumber.

Dean awakes the next morning with the cutest of forest bunnies, and the whole fandom swoons as as he picks up the furry beast and says, “Hey buddy.” Fanservice at its best, my dears.

Everyone assumes that Dean was out on a bender, including Dean, and after a stop at the local waffle house, Sam insists that they continue their investigation of the death they had began the day before. Except that Dean is fuzzy on the details, and after a few hours, it becomes clear that he is more than fuzzy on almost everything, including which key starts Baby, that ‘R’ is for reverse (If Sam had crashed baby into some newspaper boxes, Dean would have dragged him out of the driver’s seat lickity-split!), and then, Dean even forgets his name.

RUH ROH

The light stick (Lamp) gets a post-it, the first of many as the episode wears on (HEE), as they figure out Dean has been hit with a hex, and their only help ends up being Rowena. Once she gets wind of a powerful book that’s needed to break the spell (the witch that cast the hex is already dead), she shows up at the motel, much to the boys’ chagrin.

Dean finding a flashlight in his pocket may be the funniest gag in the episode.

As Dean’s memory begins to rapidly erode, this show pulls one of its best tricks: making a silly situation veer from funny to dire. Watching Sammy realize that his brother is on the fast track to a sad death is always heartbreaking, and the look on his face at the end? My heart! Poor Sammy! Add in Dean talking to himself in the bathroom mirror, trying to remember anything, and this fan get a little teary.

An ancient witch family, the Loughlins, have an old Druid spell book called the Black Grimoire. It’s the only thing that has the spell to break Dean’s hex in the time they have before Dean forgets how to breath and dies, and Rowena has got her eyes on it.

Sam runs off to get the book, and leaves Dean in Rowena’s care. Dean and Rowena have a heart to heart at the motel, and Rowena enjoys getting some sympathy from an addled Dean. It’s very cute.

Rowena has had a run-in with this family, and the British Men of Letters back in the day, and even though Sam insists that she stay behind with Dean, she takes Dean to the Loughlin home anyway. Because that is what Rowena does.

Turns out it’s a good thing she does, because Sam is flung across the room and subsequently tied up pretty much the second he enters the house.

Dean wakes up in the Impala, and when he looks into the trunk and finds the weapons cache, he is very excited. Clearly, Sam expected his brother to make an appearance, as everything has been post-it noted, including the grenade launcher, which has an emphatic ‘NO!’ post-it attached. That thing is so gonna get used this season.

Dean shows up and saves the day, even if he doesn’t know the difference between his brother and a witch. Rowena de-hexes Dean, and all is well. Sam even remembers to get the Black Grimoire from Rowena before she skedaddles with it.

A final little bit of fanservice, they show us Dean riding the bull, Larry. Thank you.

A quality episode. Supernatural does this kind of episode in its sleep these days, and it is almost always successful. I especially enjoy all the little jokes sprinkled in along the way, including the post-its, and the ‘Dean is dumb’ jokes, because Jensen is just so damned adorable playing them.

Quotes!

Dean: “Right. Right. Yes, the Devil baby mama drama. Say that five times fast. Devil baby mama drama.”

Dean: “Okay One: The Rat Pack partied till the day they died and B: I can still kick your ass.”

Rowena: “From the neck down, is he smooth like a Ken doll?” Sam: “I don’t know, and I’m not checking either.”

Dean: “First action in I don’t know how long and it’s like it never even happened. Figures.” Sam: “See, now that’s comedy.”

Sam: “You know, I’ve seen my brother die. But watching him become… not him. This might actually be worse.” (<— This is what I’m talking about! 🙁 )

 

Next! Is this the end for Castiel???! (Prolly not, but maybe!)

(I am so sick of Riverdale usurping my sneak peek time each week. Cut it out, The CW!)