Bardic’s Descant: 6:19 Mommy Dearest: I’m Building The Perfect Beast
Back at the police station, Bobby assured Castiel the boys wouldn’t be gone long, but the angel sarcastically observed they might find more wayward orphans along the way. When Bobby chided him, Castiel snarkily asked his pardon for having highlighted the Winchesters’ crippling and dangerous empathetic response with sarcasm, saying letting them go was a bad idea. Bobby pointed out that they still needed coordinates to find Eve, and drew the angel back into the interrogation. The monster sheriff told Bobby Eve could see them right now and they were just making her mad. Castiel told Bobby he needed five minutes alone with the monster, and Bobby walked away, taking a pull on his whiskey flask out in the main room. He heard gurgling screams followed by silence a few minutes later and then Castiel walked out wiping blood off his hands, saying Eve was at 25 Buckley Street and he should call Sam and Dean.
When the brothers returned to the station, Dean saw the sheriff monster was missing his head. Bobby said they had a location and just needed to get close enough to take a shot. Dean passed around the phoenix ash shells he had made, giving one to each of them to load and sliding the last one into his pocket. Going to the address, they discovered it was the diner where they’d eaten lunch. Speculating about why she’d let them both in and out of the place before, Dean offered an impatiently simple plan to flush her out; he and Sam would go in, and if they failed to get a shot, it would be up to Bobby and Castiel.
Inside the diner, Sam did a sweeping scan across the other patrons with his cell phone camera, discovering they all had shifter-glowing eyes. As they decided to retreat, the waitress set down two specials in front of them and told them leaving would be rude, calling Sam by name, and they realized she was Eve. Her monster children closed all the blinds, making it impossible for Bobby and Castiel to see what was going on, and one collected the brothers’ weapons. She sniffed the breech of one of the guns, detecting the scent of phoenix ash, and told an underling to destroy the guns. She told the brothers to relax, that she wasn’t there to fight. She told them she’d never wanted to tear apart the planet, that she’d been happy with the natural order in which some of her children turned some humans, and humans hunted a few of them. She said what changed was her children started getting kidnapped and tortured, even her firstborns, and claimed she was pushed into this because a mother defends her children. When Dean scoffed at her motherhood claim, she transformed her appearance into a perfect copy of Mary Winchester, pointing out their mother had died to protect them. Dean told her the conversation was over, saying if she wanted to kill them she should do it, but she said it was Crowley she wanted dead. The brothers protested that Crowley had burned months ago, but she assured them he was alive, that she saw his face through the eyes of every child he strung up and skinned.
She asked if they had any idea why he wanted her babies, and Dean harked back to the demon saying he wanted Purgatory. She scoffed at that, saying it was about the souls. She told them souls were power, fuel, each soul a nuclear reactor, and when you combined them, you had the sun. She asked them to think what the king of Hell could do with all that power, saying he wanted to siphon off her supply of souls and tortured her children to do it. She said she would quit playing nice; instead, she would turn every human into a monster so all their souls would go to Purgatory, to her, instead of to Heaven or Hell. Dean pointed out there were a few billion humans and her plan might take a while, but she asked him rhetorically what they thought she was doing here, and answered her own question by saying she was building the perfect beast. She dismissed the many dead hybrids in the town as unfortunate failures along the way in her beta testing program, but asserted she’d finally gotten it right, producing a quiet, smart, inconspicuous hybrid that could infiltrate and spread the monster-conversion infection through a whole town in under a day. She gloated that the Winchesters had been the final test to see if it could slip past hunters undetected, and it worked: she revealed it was Ryan, the silent little boy they had rescued and delivered to his uncle.
And in Meritt, the uncle found Joe, the older boy, lying unconscious or dead on the living room floor with his neck savagely bitten, and turned away to discover bloody-mouthed Ryan confronting him. Then Joe got up to menace him as well, and both boys attacked.
The Winchesters were sickened to realize what they’d done, but Eve gleefully pointed out that Ryan had been bound to work on them , a little wayward orphan like themselves. She noted it was too late for them to do anything about Ryan now, and said she had an offer to propose. Noting Crowley was notoriously hard to find, she offered to let them live if they found Crowley and brought him to her. Dean refused, and when Sam began to protest, shut him down to repeat the answer was no. She chided him for speaking as if he had another option, and then the door opened and Castiel and Bobby were brought into the diner under guard. She noted she was older than Castiel and knew what made angels tick, saying as long as she was around, he was unplugged. She encouraged the brothers to work for her, saying it was a good deal, and offered as a bonus that she wouldn’t kill their friends, either. Dean said they’d spent the last few months working for an evil dick and weren’t about to sign up to work for an evil bitch. As Bobby, Castiel, and Sam looked on in horrified dismay, Dean insisted they wouldn’t work for demons or monsters, and if that meant she would kill them, she should do it. She said she might just turn them instead and get them to do what she wanted anyway, and Dean said the answer was still no. With inhuman speed, she grabbed Dean from behind, warning him not to test her, but he responded with a simple, Bite me. She did exactly that, sinking her teeth in his neck, but even as the others struggled to reach him, Eve let him go, coughing and choking. Dean revealed he’d dumped one cartridge worth of phoenix ash into an ounce of whiskey and drunk it, poisoning his blood with the ash. Burning from within, Eve began spewing fluids, almost as if she was dissolving or dying in the different ways her various children did, and then fell as her chest lit up with a soul-like light that then went dark. All the monsters in the diner screamed and began to attack. Castiel shouted they should close their eyes and then blasted the place with power and light. When the light faded, all the monsters were dead, their eyes burned out.
Castiel healed Dean. Dean said they had to go to deal with the little kid because he was one of them, cutting off Castiel by saying he knew the angel had told him so. At the uncle’s house, they found the man dead on the floor and briefly thought they’d lost it all, but Bobby found the two boys also dead. Sam found traces of sulfur, making it clear demons had killed them. Knowing demons wouldn’t have cared about monsters unless they’d been ordered, Sam wondered if Eve had been telling the truth, and Dean told Bobby and Castiel about Eve’s claim that Crowley was still alive. Castiel protested he had burned Crowley’s bones. Saying he was an angel and would look into it immediately, Castiel vanished. Dean shouted after him that he should tell them what he found out, but Bobby and Sam shared a look and moved thoughtfully away. When Dean reacted to their dissociation, Bobby, to make him think, asked how Crowley had gotten away, pointing out it wasn’t like Castiel to make that kind of mistake, unless he meant to. Dean defended him, saying it was Cass they were talking about, and appealed to Sam, asking if Sam believed it. Sam hesitated, and when Dean pressed him, said for Dean’s benefit that it was probably nothing, but clearly didn’t believe what he was saying.
Back in the diner, surrounded by the bodies of the dead, Castiel turned when Crowley arrived. The demon chidingly told him this was getting ridiculous, and asked how many times he was going to have to clean up Castiel’s messes.
Wow.
This was a very enjoyable – and insightful article. 🙂
Just let me add a few quick thoughts.
[b]Why didn’t Eve simply turn the brothers and Bobby and have done, rather than trying to persuade them to cooperate with her?[/b]
I suspect that the Winchester brothers and Bobby would have been better hunters if they were not tampered with (i.e. turned); and perhaps Eve thought so as well. This could have been important since Crowley was (in her view) difficult to find.
I think the bigger gap in logic (as another writer has pointed out) is why didn’t Eve simply summon Crowley the way Bobby did in “Weekend at Bobby’s”, or procured someone to do it, instead of trying to get hunters (or “turned” hunters”) to get Crowley ?
[b]So how did Dean not get infected from his contact with Ed’s blood?[/b]
Perhaps the consumed ash had something to do with it (if he had ingested it by then) ? No idea really.
[b](T)he script’s blatant fan service to slash fandom.[/b]
While I did feel a bit uncomfortable with the “slashy” bits, I do think that they were fine (i.e not overdone), and if truth be told, a little funny (even with the discomfort) – they were at most one or two throw away inconsequential lines. And if those few lines help to generate more viewership for Supernatural …
A quick thought about Crowley’s fake death in “Caged Heat”. Why was Megan able to detect it at that time ?
Also, Megan would have presumably known that Crowley wasn’t really dead at some point in time thereafter – why didn’t she attempt to reestablish her alliance with the Winchester brothers after “Caged Heat” ?
Thanks – and I’m glad you enjoyed the piece, because I definitely had fun writing it!
I could see the brothers possibly being better hunters with all their human instincts intact; let’s say that’s why Eve left them human. Keeping them human definitely works for me! 🙂
On the question of why Eve didn’t just summon Crowley, or have someone do it; I don’t think we’ve ever been given a solid reason to believe, in [i]Supernatural[/i], that summoning a demon forcibly compels it to appear, at least not if it’s a really powerful one. I’m guessing that, for the top echelon of demons, it’s not a compulsion so much as it is an invitation, with the demon able to choose whether to pick up the phone or not. (And I wonder whether that may also apply to angels; whether the reason Rachel wasn’t already visible and present in the warehouse to which she summoned Castiel in [i]Frontierland[/i] was simply because she didn’t want him to know she was the one who summoned him, and spiked his curiosity by popping out to make him answer the call to the seemingly empty warehouse in order to learn who had called him.) If that’s the case, then Azazel, Ruby, and Crowley chose to respond when they were called because they wanted to, not because they absolutely had to; and I could see that being the case every time, given the nature and timing of their various summonses. I could also see Crowley being able to take a peek at the setup and deciding not to answer if Mommy Dearest was in the neighborhood.
Or, it could be something completely different … let me go away and think for a while!
Heh: I also like your explanation for Dean avoiding infection from touching the blood with his finger. Let’s call him temporarily inoculated! *grin*
On the slashiness, I’ll admit I chuckled a little for Cass appearing immediately behind Dean on the “not living in my ass” line, but there was still a lot of fatigue in my reaction to the humor, especially by the time we got around to the “ointment” lines. Slash is just such an easy target for cheap laughs; I’m tired of it, if only because it’s so very vocal.
On Crowley’s fake death – I don’t think Meg did detect it. She had wanted Crowley to die for having betrayed Lucifer; all I saw on her face in [i]Caged Heat[/i] was pleasure for Crowley being destroyed, followed by determination to escape. As for why she didn’t get in touch with the Winchesters when she learned Crowley was actually alive, well; there really was no love lost there. I think Meg was perfectly well aware that both Sam and Dean meant to kill her after she took down Crowley, so teaming with them again wouldn’t have been in the cards unless she could have seen some way to protect herself from them in the process.
I strongly suspect we’ve going to see Meg again someday, if only because she has to be in the forefront of the opposition to Crowley in Hell. But when, where, and doing what – I haven’t a clue!
Thanks again for engaging, especially since I’ve been notoriously absent from the dialogue thing. Glad to be back!!
[quote]Given Eve’s comment about souls being fuel, little nuclear reactors that when combined produce the sun, I wonder whether the ultimate purpose of creating humans may have been to power Heaven, setting up a self-replicating engine that freed God to move on to other things. Wouldn’t it be ironic – especially for Zachariah and the other angels who chose deliberately to bring about the apocalypse – if all that Heavenly power angels can draw on and channel is generated by the presence of human souls dwelling in and generating bliss in Heaven, and relies on the steady arrival of more souls to replace the power being consumed? If human souls reliving their bliss power Heaven and angels, then I would guess that human souls in torment in Hell provide the power for all we’ve seen demons and Lucifer able to do.[/quote]
Interesting that you say that because I believe Cas wants these souls only because he knows they are the only way he can heal himself and his fellow angels. Didn’t he tell Dean once that their “numbers are not unlimited” If they are wounded in battle, siphoning a human soul might be the only way to save them. I think he might be doing what ever it takes to keep what few angels he has on his side alive. Also, I don’t believe for an instant that he is doing this for evil purposes. Misguided maybe, but not evil. Perhaps in his mind the end justifies the means. If this is the only way he can win the war then, he’s gonna do what he thinks he has to do even if it means hooking up with Crowley and stretching the boundaries of his ethics.
Learning to do questionable things out of desperation, even for all the right reasons, would certainly be something he would have picked up hanging around the Winchesters all this time. Too bad he didn’t pick up that those decisions usually don’t end well.
I hope we get definitive answers tomorrow night and I hope that one of them isn’t that Cas is their new enemy. It will break my heart if that is the case.
Another great review Bardic.
Oooh; nice thought on Castiel seeking souls because siphoning power could save angels who otherwise would die. Me likey!
I’m both impatient for and afraid of tomorrow night; what lines will we learn Castiel had already crossed? And is one of them his Rubicon, that can’t be crossed back again, to change his fate?
I would hate to see Dean so badly hurt by this surprise and this betrayal that he would consider Castiel beyond the pale. Dean found forgiveness for Sam, even after expressing extreme reservations about and distrust of him at the end of [i]Sympathy For The Devil[/i]; I hope he can do the same for Castiel, and not reject him out of hand in the first blush of discovering how far he has fallen.
Is it Friday yet?
And thanks for the praise!
Thanks for another wonderfully written and insightful review!
I am also worried about what Cas is up to working with Crowley. Also a bit concerned about the “nothing” that Sam tried to dismiss at the end-was it really nothing or some memory/crack?
When we were discussing this episode, a friend of mine brought up one of the early season 6 promos – “Trust No One”. Looks like another layer of meaning has been added to that one.
Thanks, m’dear – glad you enjoyed!
Sam seems to have been remembering more little snatches, as indicated by his discovery of the Campbell family library in [i]Frontierland[/i]. What’s really not clear is how much he’s indicating to Dean and Bobby about [u]remembering[/u] rather than [u]deducing[/u]: if he’s pretending deduction to explain things he’s actually recalling, it’s going to be a rude awakening for his brother and Bobby.
I am [i]so[/i] afraid of what remains of this season; I know it will break my heart.
This summer is going to be one hell of a hellacious hiatus …
Oh, such a good review, especially on your thoughts about the storylines and meaning and purpose of souls. Unfortunately, as you say, it’s too big, too impersonal to the brothers, and I gave up even thinking about it all a long time ago. Mostly, I think, the bigness has put a stop to character focus for the brothers. Sure, they get screen time, but the story isn’t focused on them, IMO.
I’m glad you gave Adam Glass and John Showalter credit. For the first time this season, I felt Mr. Glass gave us Old Dean back…loved the appearance of reckless, simple and effective, have a Plan B Dean after such a long time…and I appreciated that. His portrayal of the brothers was perfect and enjoyable. And, you know what? I’ve always liked the locker room humor for our tough, blue collar, fringe of society guys.
Loved the Dean’s reflection in the glass of the interrogation room, and the mirror shots in the car. I’ve always liked John Showalter’s work.
I love Mark Sheppard and, yes, what professionalism. The only thing with Crowley this season is that instead of an adorable rat fenemy, he is now just a rat. Boo hoo. I hope he doesn’t become a Bela, with no redeeming qualities. I kind of liked the adorable rat. Killing Crowley off way back was good, because I did not like the show having Sam/Dean working for him. It just seemed so wrong for Dean, and made him look dumb in that he worked for Crowley for months without thinking of hunting up Death sooner. Crowley returning now, I feel, once and for all takes death off the table for any character, demon, monster, or angel. It’s a twist that I fear will weaken any suspense in further seasons. I mean, we already knew death was off the table for the brothers, which takes a lot of the suspense out of the show period, but now everyone and everything is fair game. I’m not sure I like that move, despite my pleasure of not having Mark gone from the show.
Let me just say that I loved this episode and anything I have said is nitpicky and didn’t take anything away from how much I enjoyed it.
Season-wise, though, I still do not see the brother’s investment in the mytharc and various stories. Why did Eve want the Winchesters specifically to work for her? Why did Death want the brothers working for him? Why does Cas feel a need to lie to the brothers about what he is doing in Heaven? Why was Dean left out of the picture for a year? Why were the Campbells brought into it? Why did Crowley make them his attack puppets (when he had legions of demons to do his work)? Why was Sam resurrected w/o a soul and why did he hook up wit the Campbells? I’m just not seeing what investment the brothers have in the saving of the world business? Because the world would be lost if Cas loses? Not personal enough for me. I guess that puts me in the ‘I’m getting tired of all the greater purposes’ camp, yet am so happy to have enjoyed everything in the episode.
I love that this show makes me actually think about what I believe Heaven & Hell & Purgatory to be, & what really is a soul & its purpose, & what is the meaning of all this (I only wish my philosophy classes back in college could have been so interesting!). Fascinating stuff!
However, what I really enjoy are the personal things, the relationships among this small group of characters that I’ve grown to love so fiercely. Boy, did my heart ache for Sam & Dean when they realized that they hadn’t saved the Silver brothers. I am also cringing at how devastated Dean will be to learn of Castiel’s “dirty little secret”. I still can’t figure what Castiel’s motivation for working with Crowley truly is. I hope we find out tonight.
As always, this was a wonderful & thought-provoking review!