Timothy Omundson is awesome. Anyone who regularly watches television has run across him at some point, and he is always great.Most recently seen as the hilarious King Richard on Galavant, I have fond memories of his take as Phil Constantino, the ruthless leader of New Bern in the long gone Jericho. So.Good.
Anyhoo, this episode is about Cain and Dean Winchester’s big battle, not my drooling over one of my favorite actors.
Now that’s a sexy bad guy!
Since we last saw Cain, he has fallen off the wagon, and is out killing his murderous descendants. Castiel finds the mass grave site, where Cain is at least burying the ones he murders (He’s not all bad!), and tells Cas that Dean is on the list. So Cas heads back to the beautiful boys, after they spot Cain on security video busting a death row inmate out of prison, and come up with a plan, which includes using and lying to a much too eager Crowley to get the First Blade for the fight.
There are many looks of concern between all of our boys, and they head off to battle, Dean doing his best to hide his flop sweat, Sam doing his best to not beg his big brother to bail. And now, I give you the three stages of Dean pre, post, and post post fight with Cain. (Gifs courtesy of It’s Okay Sammy tumblr)
All fresh and Mark of Cain glowy
Dean takes the blade and is surprizingly calm. Maybe he has a handle on all of this!
Immediately post fight (yikes)
After the taunting and horrible predictions that Cain inflicts on Dean, Dean finally lets go and kills Cain. Dean seems upset by all of it (who wouldn’t be!).
“Dean’s in trouble” post post fight
Cain is in deep. He knows that he won’t stop on his own. He has plans for Dean, but I am guessing not the plan that Dean suspected. I think that ultimately, Cain wanted Dean to kill him. I don’t buy for a second that Cain couldn’t have wiped the floor with Dean. I think Cain, who had gone so deep and dark, wanted to warn Dean. He did it in a horrible and twisted way, forecasting the destruction of Dean’s friends, and then Sammy, by Dean’s own hand. And just when he was ready to strike Dean down, having gotten his hands on the First Blade for the last time, Dean pulls a Vader and cuts off Cain’s hand. It was AWESOME. I think by the time Cain got his mitts on the First Blade, he was fully intent on killing Dean, but once he saw his hand detached from his body, he knew it was time to give in. He sat so easily and let Dean kill him, even as Dean pleaded for another way.
So now Dean has done what he intended, but at what cost? The expected path for Dean was to turn to a raging, horrifying monster, but he has done the opposite. He has gotten quiet, reserved, and focused as the season has progressed. That faraway look on his face in that gif up there? Sad, broken, and potentially terrifying. You know what they say, “It’s always the quiets ones you have to look out for.”
The only other bit of significance this episode was when Rowena told Crowley to stop being such a pansy when it came to… well, everything. The King of Hell’s mom may have given him the kick to the nuts he needed to get back to his old ways. I would welcome it, because a neutered Crowley is no fun!
I haven’t seen the preview for the next episode, but would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the show is moving back to Wednesday nights, right after Arrow. Oliver Queen and the Winchesters on the same night? Be still my little heart!