First reaction: OMFG!!!!

Second reaction: I don't know if the brothers realize how powerful they are in this equation. They feel like slaves to destiny, but what we're seeing is that nothing's gonna happen unless and until they say so.

And the whole destiny business aside, why can't one of the other angels off Lucifer anyway?

THUNDERSTRUCK!!!!!!! to borrow a word from this site. WOW!!!!

I don't know what to say first. This was the best epi so far. I only watched it once but I LOVE the boys. They are so good together. I never liked the trickster, and when they killed him, I jumped for joy. Sorry trickster fan...but I don't like those who hurt the boys. But it ended even better than him dying. Beating at his own game was even better. Imagine Dean saying Gabriel is afraid to stand up to dad. Always can see in others what uou can see in yourself. Still Dean and Sam, wouldn't be who they are if they hadn't gone down this exact path.

I guess now the boys have a another 'weapon' to help them. Either way...I can't see the trickster bothering them again.

I loved the creative way they used the games. So Dean's into soap operas huh? So funny. I loved KITT. That was a riot! I think I like that the best.

Lot of info Gabriel gave, but how much was true and how much wasn't. Guess there will be a lot of speculation now, but for me as long as the boys have each other's back...I don't care. Even if they go down, they do it together.

WOW!!!! Did I say I LOVED this episode.

I'll shut up now. I just going to wallow in the bbeauty of it all.

Okay, a few more sound bites. "Son of a bitch." "Since when did you start menopause?" "It's a guilty pleasure." "Stat!" "You know who wears sunglasses at night. No talent douchebags, that's who."

Also, when I saw the "rough cut" of this, they had the actual Who song "Won't Get Fooled Again" in it. They used another version in this one. They must not have gotten clearance before airing.

The Trickster seems to always get the best if not the funniest episodes of the season. Love it.
The plot twist was jaw dropping... or maybe that was just me. But I loved just as much as the TV references this episode was filled with. I certainly need to watch this episode again to properly soak in that crazy plot twist and talk about it more. I'm with Jessy on this one. First reaction was OMFG!!!

Alice, I don't know how you could have kept all this a secret. I would have blabbed to everyone! I hope you have that entire song in your recap!

Wonderfull epi!

“You sorry sons of bitches. Why do you think you two are the vessels? Think about it, Michael, the big brother, loyal to an absent father. And Lucifer, the little brother, rebellious of daddy’s plan. You were born to this boys, it’s your destiny. It was always you! As it is in Heaven, so it must be on earth. One brother has to kill the other.”

Oh man, this kills me!

I may go blind from repeatedly rewatching this episode. sonofaBITCH

Ok i nearly died of laughing during the "credit's sequence" the tandum - oh i love you so much kripke and carver! Just an amazing episode, i know there are some people who think that the trickster being outed as gabriel is not in keeping with the character but if you think back to mystery spot and the lesson he tired to teach them then it does fit. And i've been on other sites and people are up in arms about the question dean answered - he didn't understand the question so his answer actually tells you more about gabriel/tricksters pov then deans.

just amazing episode, funny, gripping and more than a little heartbreaking at the end.

did i mention that i love this show..... i so be watching this episode a million times over this weekend!

still laughing about the herpes advert...

Kleenex severd a dual purpose this time, because I have the head cold from hell. I laughed so hard during the opening credits I nearly sufficated. Too much information to absorb right now, I'm going to watch it again tonight. At least this time I'm prepared!

I just had a really... disturbing thought. If Dean is Micheal and Sam is Lucifer, wouldn't John be God? In that case God is gone because Azazel killed his vessel. Thet would make sense in a... twisted sort of way. Or is this the lack of oxygen speaking?

Oops, almost forgot the well-deserved dig at the 500 procedural cop shows. Thank you!

And no clearance for the Who? C'mon guys, there's only two of you left, and no one bought the last "Who" album anyway. Do it for The Ox!

O MY F*CKING GOD!
FUNNIEST.EP.EVER!

Don't understand why there is controversy over Dean's question and answer. First he didn't even know the question or answer. Second, if either of the boys hadn't been born, John and Mary would be alive. As far as the angels are concerned, and they have been manipulating this from the start, they needed brothers. As far as the boys are concerned, if they angels want a war...they do it in their own bodies on there own turf!

It was very good episode. I'd say everything was awesome!!! expect the mytharc part.
Don't hit me!
I think I just don't have real angel-loving-heart, because all of the angels have been disappointments to me. I loved Uriel, but he was blatantly bad and got killed. I liked Anna as angel-radio-girl, and was strongly disappointed when she turned up to be another angel. I liked Castiel's first scenes, but he turned out to be just stupid, not merciless and terrible /what I expected him to be, when he burned out Pam's eyes eyes/.
Raphael did not convince me with his "we just want this to end"-speech, he seemed simply having serious adjustment problems with changed situation. Childish, really. Zacharia is boring and rather impotent - like colonel Lynch in the A-Team, you know, the guy who did never and will never catch the A-Team. (As Zach never did and never will catch the Winchesters.)
Lucifer was pretty cool until the End, where he too acted out some stupid 1000 0000 0000 years old jealousy-drama.
Like, really. How old are you? Older than the world?! Get over it already!

And now, when one of my favorite guys - the Trickster - turned up to be an angel he also turned up to be kind of whiny and fatalistic and the lesson he tried to give Sam in Mystery Spot just lost it's positive meaning and became absolutely pointless and cruel.

So the episode was still very very very pleasant. So good I even keep options open about the fact do I still like Gabriel/Trickster or not. I laughed a lot and made other weird noises like "OHMYGOD! EEEEEEEE!" etc.

But you know, I happen to _like_ when people hurt Sam and Dean (can't very well call them "boys", as Dean is older than me and Sam is not very boyish anymore), I like that Winchesters are not able to deal permanently with everyone they dislike, and I really hope Gabriel won't come back to them crawling but has the old arrogant attitude back.
Even as I hope he WILL come back soon and also hope all of them be on the same side.

I don't want to be negative overall, so my highlights (in addition to opening credits and ALL THE TV-SHOWS which were too great to describe):

the oh-so-funny meta with herpex-add. How they all (Sam too, really) tried to be responsible, but failed. And do now their best to put out the fire.

the oh-so-funny meta with pretty-brunette-maddison-and-other-dark-samgirls-lookalike-doctor's speech how Sam started the end of the world and is now too afraid to act independently. But he is still great... doctor? ...mmm, hunter? brother? something! ...and should just find some new courage to work and to LOVE!

Dean's girl is wearing the same type of bikini top that I bought this summer to myself ( Do I have a chance with Dean??? Even when my bottom-part of bikins is different?) (And were the girls in 80-s sitcoms wearing bikinis when it was not summer and no beach was nearby? I'm too young to know.)

The Music!

And Sam wanting to talk with Trickster and Dean's monster's and Facebooke-friend's answer.

Really, I loved it. Just not so sure about the angels.

I loved this episode. Couldn't stop laughing with the Herpes commercial, especially given to what the he-witch did to Sam last week. There is soooooo much to absorb from this episode. I've viewed it twice and I need to watch it several more times to create any order in my mind of all my thoughts in relation to the mytharc.

One thing I do know is that I am tired of the Angels continuing to say that Sam (and Dean) were responsible for the apocalypse. They (the angels) are just as responsible - they let it happen, when they could easily have stopped it. And to continually lay that blame at the boys - I wish either Dean or Sam would snark back and put them in their place (kind of like how Dean put Gabriel in his place at the end of the episode).

Another thing does have me worried though, When Gabriel told Dean and Sam that the end will be bloody and that endings aren't all nice and neatly packaged up like a TV show. Was that a foretelling to the final battle? It has me concerned over what will happen to the boys and other favorite characters in the final days.

All in all, great episode. My favorite TV bit was the play on CSI: Miami. Jared's imitation of Horatio Caine was so spot on - he even stood like him. Loved, loved, loved it.

I think that it was always meant to be them but no one really knew that. Everybody can look back right now and say "Those 2. Of course. Every little thing fits."

But before things really started, guys and girls in heaven and hell had to choose between so many people that they could not spot the right ones for sure.
And also - Azazel did never know everything.

*whistles* Great. Episode. May end up in my top 10, but, of course, I'll need some rewatching before making that decision. :}

Hmm, the whole destiny thing coming from the angels AND the lucifer's lot... I think it's a lot of bull. I agree with Sablegreen and vana naine that both Demons and Angels were looking for those who would bring about the apocalypse, but I don't think they ever actualy knew it would be via Sam and Dean. Like Sablegreen said, there were scores of psychic kids that Azazel "marked," if you will, with his blood. And it seems like if Lucifer has a Plan B vessel, then surely Michael has a plan B vessel... suggesting that it isn't "destined" that the brothers are the only means by which the War will end.

@Jessy - I hadn't really viewed the brother's predicament that way before! I think the brothers (and the audience) get so caught up in the idea that they have this weight on their shoulders that they don't realize just how much power they wield by being able to say "no" to the angels.

I'm also feeling an odd mixture of annoyance/intrigue at how the show has been ending lately. It seems like the guys have been voicing a lot of regret and have gotten caught up in things they've done in the past that they can't change now. It makes total sense why they would feel that way...but I'm just hoping that they'll soon get out of that rut and find their way again. This is soooo NOT a complaint about Show, just a fanciful wish that the "boys" could find their footing again and basically live in TV Land where the endings come in neatly wrapped packages topped with a bow. *Sigh* How well you know your viewers, Kripke.

Brilliant, not as good as Mystery Spot, and the Trickster took a nosedive in my estimation when he was revealed to be an angel (so much for an interesting antagonist who's not tied to either 'angel' or 'demon' camp), but hilarious and intriguing.

I have nothing to say about the spoofs that hasn't already been said, but the opening credits? HAH. So much amazing. I'm still recovering from my split sides.

(and the "nutcracker" show? Ouch. I didn't know whether to laugh or stare in horror.)

I wish Sam had had a little more involvement in the last scene where Dean tells Gabriel off.

Wonderful from start to finish. I actually think better than Mystery Spot, where I've always had a bit of a problem with the structure: I think Sam's long hunt on his own and the final scene with the Trickster were not quite as well integrated with the rest of the story as they should have been. (Please don't shoot me, I know you all love Mystery Spot and I'm not trying to persuade you otherwise.)

Sam as Kitt was just awesome. And Dean in caretaker mode at the end: Sam back with opposable thumbs and Castiel back from wherever (just wish he could have added Bobby's legs as well).

And both Jensen and Jared did an awesome acting job throughout. They inhabit Sam and Dean so thoroughly it's easy to take their acting skills for granted, but something like Changing Channels really showcases what they do.

Thanks Sablegreen, vana naine and Mae.
The way the Trickster had worded it, just didn’t make sense to me.
I made the mistake of watching this after working a 12hr night shift and had been up for over 20hrs. I just couldn’t wait to watch it so my brain was just alittle sleep deprived.
With this show, it was well worth it.

I agree about the Tricker. I would prefer it if they had it that Gabriel was not the Trickster during those episodes, but later.

Didn't know God was making an appearance in SPN. I just don't read enough on the net. Anyway Suze, JMD as God? That Makes Sam and Dean his sons! That interesting! I'm guessing Dad will just show up to help his sons make the right choice. And so Dean can understand why he does idolize his Dad.

Mae I agree with you, these episodes, at least some, should end up more on a up beat. We all know the boys have problems, but some good things do happen! And really both boys now have stated that they are going to deal with what comes day by day. It would be nice if one epi had someone telling them their decision to say 'No' was correct.

Faellie, just so you know your not alone, I really didn't like Mystery Spot either. Everyone else seemed to love it, and the artistic content was great, but I found the story to be cruel, and pointless. We already knew losing Dean would be VERY tramatic for Sam...I really didn't think we need to watch him experience it 100 times. Sorry all.

To find out trickster is an angel seems to fit. After all, they depict most of the angels as bad as the demons, that seems to fit the trickster too.

Hi ell2,

Great recap! I love YOUR love of the show...I share it. I have watched the procedural cops shows for many years. It's true; they don't whole a candle to SPN. I have watched CSI for years, and I can't believe how WELL Jared nailed David Caruso. His voice even sounds like Caruso. Dean as Hasselhoff was classic, and I loved when Dean closed the trunk and Sam said that hurt. That little detail is something only Jeremy Carver would think of. That was my favorite as all three show stars were playing the game!

Richard Speight Jr. was great. The way the ‘fun’ attitude changed to despair in the end was great. Also like the greeting between Cas and Gabriel. It said so much with so few words.

I am glad the boys didn’t leave him there to rot. That would be sinking to the bad guys level. Sam and Dean are definitely above that. Also liked the way Dean was leading again. Even Cas followed his lead. That’s what I wanted to see!

Such a good epi. Hope Kripke can follow up with another this week! Guess this is the last for two months.