How much do I love Rick Worthy? THIS MUCH. This is a case of me almost wanting the Winchesters to not win, because the Alpha Vampire, played by Rick Worthy, was one of my all-time favorite Big Bads. I mean, sometimes the Winchesters don’t win… right? (Not really)

Back at the beginning of the season, I wondered how they would integrate Mary into the show. Clearly, she couldn’t just be Sam and Dean’s Mom. At the start, the time she needed to adjust to being alive again, and getting a grip on what the world, and her sons were now, could only take us so far. So to have her join up with the Brits makes all kinds of sense. She spent her (first) life trying to have a normal life away from hunting, and was heartbroken to find out her sons were waist deep in it when she came back. Of course she would work to give her boys a normal life. Of course she would do anything, including lying to Sam and Dean. She is a Winchester after all (Yes, she’s a Campbell too, but c’mooooon, she acts just like a Winchester!!)

So the episode begins with Sam, and especially Dean, being very angry with their mother, as she tries to explain herself. The boys, having had an extremely terrible intro to the Brits, are too angry to hear what she has to say, reminding her of the torture and kidnapping they endured just a few months prior. Dean is so pissed that he even tells her to go, which is particularly harsh. Never get on the bad side of Dean Winchester, y’all. Sam, looking to avoid an even more ugly scene, suggests she leave as well. Which makes the screenshots of Mary’s texts to her boys pleading for any kind of response even more upsetting.

Three days later, Dean is still pissed, and itching to go on a hunt. He and Sam get into it, as Sam wants to talk with Mary, but Dean refuses. There’s a nice bit of business by Jared, when Dean says he needs a drink. Sam, exasperated, checks his watch, telling us that he thinks it’s too early to start drinking. Good stuff.

After Dean storms off, Sam sees an “urgent” text from Mary, and meets her at the temporary headquarters of the British Men of Letters. She pleads her case, and takes him in to show him around, and meet the crew. It’s pretty fancy, Mission Impossible kind of stuff. Sam is properly dubious of the whole operation, but as the episode goes on, you can see him start to break. The toys are tempting, their efficiency is impressive, and that little glimmer of a normal life that has always eluded him, starts to grow in Sam.

And when the vampires show up and take out one security guard after another, swarming the place, we see what the biggest chink in the Men of Letters armor is: when you separate the muscle and the brains, you are asking for nothing but trouble. Sam and Dean both have experience hunting and researching, so when things go sideways, as when the Alpha Vampire sicks his children on your fancy, mobile headquarters, you aren’t caught with your pants down. Nor are you reliant on shady operators from New Orleans, who may or may not be working on the wrong side (This one was certainly working on the wrong side!).

Meanwhile, Mr. Ketch has decided he is gonna go recruit Dean, and shows up at the bunker clutching a very expensive bottle of Scotch. Interesting how Mr. Ketch has sized up Dean so quickly, isn’t it? And Dean, knowing exactly what Mr. Ketch is up to, lets him in anyway. Because SCOTCH. And while the new Scotch buddies drink, Mr. Ketch drops the one little nugget he knows Dean can’t resist: a vamp hunt.

Is it me, or does Mr. Ketch have off the charts (sex) chemistry with every member of the Winchester clan so far? Will that trend continue when he gets some alone time with Sammy? Maybe it’s just me.

You know how I hate it when Sam and Dean fight, and spend most of an episode apart and pissy? Well, on the other hand, I really like it when Dean gets a new hunting buddy. Something interesting always happens. When the lone vamp is discovered and dragged over to Dean by Mr. Ketch, we see how brutal he is with her. I am going to guess, that when all you do is kill monsters, just sent to kill without any background or understanding of said monster, you lose your humanity pretty quickly. Yet another weakness of doing it the Men of Letters way. We already know that the Brits kill all monsters, no matter the circumstances, while Sam and Dean will let one go from time to time, because of their (mostly) intact humanity. This is who I prefer to be out there keeping us safe.

Once Mr. Ketch and Dean discover that the vamp nest has skedaddled, they rush off to the Brits mobile bunker, as chaos ensues.

Sam learns that Mary nicked The Colt  for the Brits during the Ramiel debacle, and even though Sammy is openly irritated by that info, he is clearly happy to see the gun. He whips off the spell to make the bullets work properly, as Mary name-checks Bobby Singer, and we all sigh a little sigh knowing that he was a hero, but is still dead. The Brits prove to be mostly useless as the vamps close in, leaving Sam and Mary and that traitorous d-bag from New Orleans to do the wet work, while Mick casts the spell that will, ultimately help save the day.

Mary gets bonked on the head, the Alpha is let in the room, and after some lovely catching up, and attempts at bluffing, Sam gets a bullet in the chamber, via a quick move by Mick, and puts a big ol’ hole through the Alpha’s noggin. He is not one of the five things in all creation that The Colt can’t kill. Bye, bye, Alpha Vampire! 🙁

So Dean and Mr. Ketch show up in the aftermath, helping shoo away the last of the stragglers. Dean and Mary make up, dumb New Orleans hunter is taken away in chains by Mr. Ketch for who knows what unspeakable-ness, and Sammy tells Mick that he is in. :O Sammy MF-ing Winchester was just seduced by the Dark Side, IMO.

Just wait until Dean finds out.

While the episode ends with hugs and happiness, this is the point in the season where everything is probably about to go sideways. Dean may join the Brits if Sam and Mary can pitch a good enough reason, but he will be surly and spiteful about it if he gives in. Not sure what he will do, once he stops being angry about it all. I love how complicated they have made the Winchester family dynamic on this show, while keeping it about family, you know? Good stuff, guys!

Quotes!

Mary: “I’m doing this for you. I’m playing three decades of catch up here.” Dean: “And we’re not? How do you think this has been for us? We’re your sons, and you’ve been gone. Our whole lives, you’ve been gone. You said that you needed time. No, you said you need space. So we gave you your space. But you didn’t need just space. No, you needed space from us.”

Dean: “You’re always playing the middle, Sam. For once, why don’t you pick a side?”

Alpha Vampire: “I’m old. I like living quietly. You’ve been making my life awfully noisy lately. You’ve killed so many of my children. I’ve seen your work. In England, I didn’t get involved, because, well… it’s England. But America… yes. America is my home. And it is time that you.. get… off… my… lawn.”

Next!

Dean wears his Hell Hound hunting glasses, and I am super happy about that. 🙂

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVmv5_Xyz0U