Sofia’s Review: Supernatural 9.06 “Heaven Can’t Wait”
This show lives to toy with my emotions. Iโve been worried about Cass ever since Dean sent him on his way and when I saw the previews for this episode I was glad to see Cass adjusting to human life. He found himself a job at the Gas-n-sip so at least he had a source of income. No more accepting sandwiches from reapers in back alleys. Thatโs a step in the right direction.
And he seemed fairly content at the start of the episode; working hard, studying human interactions, becoming friendly with his boss. Of course it broke my heart to find out that he was sleeping on the floor in the back room and the only clothes he owns are the ones on his back. Come on, Dean! Give the guy a little money before you send him on his way. Maybe set him up with one of your many credit cards.
But the hits didnโt stop there either. The one bright spot in Castielโs otherwise monotonous life was the chemistry between him and his manager. He was pretty proud of himself after she asked him out. It was kind of adorable. The whole scene with Dean helping Cass get ready and offering him pointers gave me a serious case of the feels. And then they crushed my heart. I really did not see that babysitting job coming. Did anyone suspect it? How could you? She clearly asked him out!
Thankfully, the babysitting job ended up giving Cass a new perspective. (And it gave us the sweetest rendition of โBelieve it or Notโ ever.) Cass began to realize what it must be like for these angels to be cast down to Earth, many of them for the first time.
Cass: โNobody explains, youโre just shoved out kicking and screaming into this human life. You donโt have any idea why it feels the way it feels. This confusion…it just feels like itโs a hairs-breadth from terror or pain. You know, just when you think you understand how it will turn out youโre wrong; you didnโt understand anything at all. I guess thatโs just how it is when youโre new at this. โ
Iโm glad Cass has realized that he has some responsibility here. Itโs not his fault that the angels fell, but they are here now and many of them are lost. Cass has a few years of experience under his belt and if he could find a way to show these confused angels the ropes I think he could save some lives. My only concern, and itโs a big one, is that most of these angels want Cass dead. So why would they take the time to listen to him? You would think that since Cass lost his grace and is completely human the other angels would see that he couldnโt have been in on Metatronโs plan to close Heavenโs gates. I guess you canโt reason with angels!
According to Crowley, our little feathered friends arenโt going anywhere anytime soon. I donโt know about you, but I donโt believe in irreversible circumstances. Not on this show where the dead come back to life and people travel through time. I think Crowleyโs bluffing. Why? I donโt know. Maybe just to be an ass. But I think he may have an endgame in mind.
It was clear from his โbad connectionโ and his conversation with Abaddon that he is quickly losing control of Hell and all his loyalists. Abaddon is changing the rules, collecting on deals before their time and pretty much doing whatever she wants. Crowley canโt possibly take her on alone. So I find myself wondering if he has a plan for these angels. Maybe he wants to pit them against Abaddon and the demons and swoop in to take over when the damage is done? Who knows? Crowley is bag of mysteries. And thatโs why we love to hate him so much.
Speaking of mysteries, what was he doing with that blood at the end of the episode? I had to actually rewind to try and figure out whose blood it was. Iโm still a little unclear as to how he got the blood in the first place. At first I thought maybe it was Samโs purified blood and Crowley was trying to finish the spell to cure himself. But Sam never drew any blood from what I could see. So I assume it has to be Kevinโs blood. Afterall, Crowley made a big stink about wanting a little variety. But why would he inject himself with Kevinโs blood? Is it pure because heโs a prophet? Or does it contain some other benefits we donโt know about? Is Crowley a human blood junkie now? I am so intrigued by this turn of events but I really have no idea where itโs going. Any guesses?
One thing that really surprised me about this episode was that it turned out to be kind of a monster-of-the-week scenario. When I saw previews and heard about exploding angels I assumed we were talking about angels possessing unsuitable vessels. We found out earlier this season that not everyone is vessel material. And if youโre not, you explode. So I was surprised to learn about Ephraim, an angel who follows pain and โrelievesโ it.
While I was surprised that this episode turned out to be more of a monster-of-the-week format, I was not disappointed by it. As is usually the case, these seemingly self-contained episodes typically help us figure out something about our boys. In this case, the story served to help us realize the pain and confusion that Cass is experiencing. It also helped him realize his desire to help rather than go on trying to be a normal human. I wonder what his next step will be? Will he keep working at the Gas-n-sip? Or will he go off on his own?
Dean encouraged Cass to live his life and let Dean and Sam figure out the angel stuff. And it did really seem like Dean was happy to have Cass safe. I just canโt help but remember that some of Deanโs resistance is stemming from Zeke. If Cass comes around, Zeke is going to take off, and where will that leave Sam? I am dying to know what Cass would think of this situation. It canโt be long now before someone finds out, right?
Overall I really enjoyed this episode! We got to see Cass and Kevin who Iโve been missing in these past episodes. We also got a little bit of interesting movement on the Abaddon/Crowley front. Iโm interested in seeing how these angel and demon storylines intersect as the season goes on! The promo for next week also looks fun. Could it be? A good old fashioned ghost hunt?
As usual I have some stray thoughts and quotes worth mentioning.
Cass: โHigh…five…โ So awkward.
Can someone explain the relationship between the Cuneiform and the Elamites? They totally lost me in the explanation of Kevinโs tablet translation.
It was kind of refreshing having some solo Sam and Dean time. I obviously love when theyโre together and would prefer that 90% of the time. But every now and then itโs fun to see them flying solo. And I like to think it gave Sam and Kevin some good bonding time which I love.
I was so grossed out once we found out what the pink spray was. (Blood, skin, hair, nails, internal organsโฆ) Yuck.
Dean: โI’d like a pack of menthols and some beef jerky.โ
Cass: โWhen I fell to Earth I didnโt just lose my powers. I had nothing.โ
Sam: I donโt know, last time we met she was pretty terrifying; scarier than youโve been in years.โ
While I loved this line, I still donโt think Abaddon is scarier than Crowley. Crowley is cold and calculated and would never be foolish enough to underestimate the Winchesters.
Crowley throwing the paper ball at Samโs face actually made me laugh out loud.
Dean: โIโve never had powers.โ
Cass: โYou are a hunter.โ
Dean: โYouโre a hunter in training.โ
Cass: โYou said I sucked.โ
Aw, poor Cass! Not that Dean was wrong, he did kind of suck.
Dean: โIf she says sheโs happy to go Dutch, sheโs lying.โ
Wise words Dean Winchester, wise words.
I was so impressed with Castielโs quick thinking when he used the rose thorns to make himself bleed so he could draw the angel banishing sigil. Too bad it didnโt work.
Crowley: โYou think you can control Hell with chaos alone?โ
Ephraim: โBy choosing a human life, you already gave up. You chose death.โ
Crowley calls Kevin โShort Roundโ. A nice shout-out to Jaredโs season 8 blooper. If you havenโt watched the gag reel, I highly recommend it. Itโs hilarious.
Great review Sofia as always! Did anyone else notice Abaddon was at Castle Storage? Isn’t that where John Winchester had his storage place on Rover Road?
I think when Sam told Crolwy that Abaddon was scarier he was pulling Crowleys chain. He was manipulating Crolwy to get him to interpret the doodles. Either that or Sam was simply insulting their prison…making him feel weak/impotant. So Crowly would kind of “I’ll show THEM” kind of thing and do the interpretations.
Thank you for the review!
Cas shouldn’t blame himself for not understanding people – we fail to understand each other all the time. Now your friend comes to rescue, brings you to his safe and comfy place, next minute he tells you to go, zero explanation. A woman looks (and behaves) all inviting – which turns out to be a trick to make you babysit her kid while she is away on a date. Who would understand lying, manipulating, unpredictable people!
Something to think about – isn’t there a time gap(like a few hours) between the moment when Cas leaves Nora’s house and when he says goodbye to Dean in front of the shop. Plenty of time to talk. I wonder what about?
[quote]Great review Sofia as always! Did anyone else notice Abaddon was at Castle Storage? Isn’t that where John Winchester had his storage place on Rover Road?[/quote]
That’s a great catch. I didn’t even notice that she was at Castle Storage. I guess I’ll just have to watch the episode again! Oh darn! ๐
[quote]I think when Sam told Crolwy that Abaddon was scarier he was pulling Crowleys chain. He was manipulating Crolwy to get him to interpret the doodles. Either that or Sam was simply insulting their prison…making him feel weak/impotant. So Crowly would kind of “I’ll show THEM” kind of thing and do the interpretations.[/quote]
Oh, I definitely agree that Sam was instigating Crowley with his comments. But I know that Abaddon feels that way about herself. She is fierce and threatening but I’m still more worried about the things that float around in Crowley’s twisted mind.
Great review Sofia. For a first time writer on SPN, that was a pretty solid episode. I’m sorry to say that I figured from the get-go that the woman wasn’t asking Cas on a date, but she needed him to babysit. I’ve become very jaded in my advancing years. ๐ The look on his face was just so sad. Why she would choose to go bowling with some dude driving a very ugly truck instead of this gorgeous blue-eyed hottie is beyond me. Her loss I guess.
[quote]While I loved this line, I still donโt think Abaddon is scarier than Crowley. Crowley is cold and calculated and would never be foolish enough to underestimate the Winchesters.[/quote] I agree with this statement. Meg said it best, that Crowley is always going the pebble in the Winchester shoes.. Do you think maybe he’s becoming a human blood junkie, just like Sam became a demon blood junkie? Hey, vampires have been doing it for centuries after all! ๐
I’m looking forward to a good old ghost story next week.