Sofia’s Review — “Hello, Cruel World”

“Hello Cruel World” picked back up with Leviathan/Cas. Let me say once more, because I’m afraid it’s the last time I’ll get to say it, Misha Collins was great in this opening scene. His transition over the last few episodes from Castiel to God/Cas to Leviathan/Cas was seamless. I’m still holding out hope that Castiel will be back. I mean, we didn’t see the body, right? But at this point, I don’t know how it would realistically work for him to come back as part of the series. He’s changed so much over the last three seasons and for him to show up again as his old wonderfully naive self would feel cheap. Now don’t get me wrong, if there’s a way to re-introduce Castiel  that doesn’t degrade the character, I’m all for it! But if there’s not, then I’m really going to miss that scrappy angel! 

When Castiel’s trench coat washed up onto shore my heart broke for Dean. Sam and Bobby will miss Cas too, there’s no question about that, but Dean and Castiel definitely had an odd-couple connection. And Dean being Dean won’t even let himself grieve. So I grieved for him. I grieved so much that it took me a minute to realize that Leviathan/Cas exploded and contaminated the public water supply.

It was a mystery how the leviathan planned to attack. They haven’t shared much lore on the creatures so it is a learn-as-you-go experience. But from this episode, it seems that they possess their vessel much like a demon would except then they eat people. They also have shapeshifter qualities, which will make them all the more difficult to hunt. Not to mention that they pretty much don’t die. Silver won’t do it, neither will bullets or a car dropped anvil style. But what was most interesting about these leviathan was how clueless they were. An episode of Dr. Sexy M.D. (I love how “Supernatural” re-uses these parodies) was their basis for understanding the medical profession. If they continue to get their information about how the world works from television then they won’t be able to stay inconspicuous for long. 

Meanwhile, we’ve got Sam’s mental battle with Lucifer. His hallucinations got to the point where I was starting to question what was real and what wasn’t. Easy logic and persuasive skills are Lucifer’s calling card, and he was on his A-game with Sam. If there was a doubt in Sam’s mind, Lucifer was there to explain it away. 

“It had to be a mess, Sam. Or you wouldn’t believe it was your life.”

True enough. I found myself discussing this exact question last week with another WFB writer/reader (Far Away Eyes)  and wondering why Lucifer would make Sam think he was out of the cage by dropping him into this crappy series of events. But this makes sense. Sam isn’t going to believe he went from hell to a perfect world like in “What is and What Should Never Be”. He can only believe that it’s real if there’s suffering and loss. How could Sam argue with that? And once he started to believe that, it became easier and easier to think that there’s no way out.

“It ends when you can’t take it anymore. I think that’s why we’re cleaning our guns.”

This took me by surprise. I hadn’t quite connected this torture with Sam killing himself, but I don’t think it’s an unrealistic leap. If things go on the way they did in this episode, I would be shocked if Sam didn’t want to find a way to end it. It’s one thing for Lucifer to hang out in the corner like Patrick Swayze in Ghost and it’s another for him to alter reality in such a way that Sam thinks he’s in the Impala with Dean when he’s not. And if it was solely a hallucination, how did Sam wind up in the warehouse? There’s definitely something behind the curtain here and it’s enough to drive me crazy! Dean did a great job of bringing Sam back to reality; finding a way to take what Sam was experiencing and compartmentalize it.

“Torture feels different then the pain of this regular, stupid, crappy…this.”

But even though Dean had a point I’m still worried that Sam is seeing “through the cracks”, as he put it, and there’s a little reality on both sides. I think there is too much going on for this to be your run-of-the-mill hallucination but I’m not ready to say that this whole past year has been one big torture device. 

I can’t believe I haven’t even mentioned the fact that Bobby is M.I.A. and his house was torched. So much has happened in these past two episodes! Bobby’s not dead. I’m just going to put that out there. There is every reason that he could be dead. It was his house that was burned and he had just told Sam that’s where he was headed and he isn’t answering his phone. So yes, I guess he could be dead, but that’s not going to happen. It would be such a needless loss at this point. Castiel’s death was an earned loss. We worked up to it a bit and it served a greater purpose for the plot. Bobby dying would make no sense, so he’s not dead. (Can you tell that I’m worried about him?) I think it’s more likely that he’s being held hostage. The leviathan that came for Sam and Dean were probably planning to use him as bait or attempt to get information out of him. They might have even thought that Sam was in the house when they set it on fire. Either way they were there and it’s clear who they came for; the Winchesters.

Now Sam and Dean are in an ambulance on their way to Leviathan General with a broken leg and some seriously scrambled eggs and Bobby is still missing. So everyone take a collective breath and mentally prepare yourself for episode three, which I’m sure will pick up right here.

While you focus on your breathing, there are a few quotes and moments to mention. 

*What is with the creepy kids!

*Dean’s message to Bobby was something I chose not to talk about because I’m too busy convincing myself that Bobby’s not dead. But on the off chance that he is, I should mention that I definitely shed a tear over it.

Dean: “If you’re gone, I swear I’m gonna strap my beautiful mind brother into the car and drive off the pier.”

*Dean: “You want to do couple’s yoga, or you want to get back to hunting the big bads?”

*Lucifer “You know, I think Prince William has found the right girl.”

*Jody Mills “Kiss my ass, Dr. Monsterface.” – I liked her. Hopefully we’ll see her again.

*Sam: “How is this helping?”

*Lucifer: “Pinocchio is seeing his strings.”