Let’s Speculate Supernatural 12.01: “Keep Calm and Carry on”
Happy Hellatus Ending! And Happy 12th Birthday to Supernatural!
In the premier episode penned by new showrunner, Andrew Dabb, we pick up immediately from where we left Sam and Dean in the season 11 finale.
The episode opens with the traditional rock montage that reminds us of what happened last season, set to April Wine’s “Bad Boys.” We find Dean looking at his mother, Mary. He goes to touch her but she does a badass hunter move and takes him down. Dean tells her that it’s him, Dean, but she says her son is four. Dean says that he was four, when she died. At that point she remembers. She lets Dean up and he tells her all he knows, including how she met John at a movie theater. She finally believes him and she goes in for a tentative embrace.
On a dark road, a solo driver in a pickup sees a burning hole in the ground. He pulls over and Castiel climbs out of the hole. As the driver is talking to him, an impatient Castiel puts him to sleep after getting the answer he needed: how far away he is from Lebanon, Kansas.
Back with Mary and Dean in a beautifully lit scene on a bench, Dean tells Mary about John’s death and tells her about the other times he and Sam have met and/or seen her. Dean tells her he’s going to take her home.
A black SUV pulls up to a house and Toni, the British Woman of Letters, gets out. She knocks on the door and asks the doctor to assist her. She opens the trunk and Sam is there, shot in the leg. The doctor says he’s a veterinarian but she doesn’t seem to care. He will fix Sam. By the way, I laughed at the fact he was a veterinarian, not even gonna lie.
We switch scenes and find Crowley stalking two demons – really funny demons.
Back in a basement, Toni is talking to her kid as Sam is tied up to a lone chair in a dark basement. She promises her kid she’ll be back soon. After she hangs up, she and her tall girl compadre/torturer start to question Sam. He resists. She shocks him. And the interrogation begins.
Sam asks about the British Men of Letters. Toni tells him about them tracking the Winchesters, and it is very reminiscent of a Watchers set up. Now, Toni? She wanted to get involved in all the adventure but the British Men of Letters did not want to do that.
She asks him for information and he says no; that every question she asks will get the same answer, “Screw you.” Toni responds by showering Sam with freezing water. And in the best line of the night, Sam says he’s been tortured by Lucifer and she is “just an accent in a pantsuit.”
Dean and Mary arrive at the bunker. Mary knows about the MoL, that it was an old hunter legend. They stop when they notice the blood on the floor. Dean goes searching the bunker and finds an angel sigil, the one Toni used to send Cas away. Dean hands Mary a gun while he goes searching again. She walks around and stops when she hears a door open. She waits and Castiel shows up. She holds him at gunpoing but Dean stops her. Cas, realizing Dean’s alive, gives him a hug. Dean asks where Sam is and Cas explains what happened. Dean grabs a computer (which amazes Mary) and he searches traffic cams, identifying the black SUV from one of the cameras. They head out and go up to get in the car. Mary sees Baby and is happy to see the car, calling her sweetheart. She smiles longingly into the backseat and Dean gets what happened and is now probably traumatized forever.
The episode returns to Sam and Toni. She explains how the Brits have not had a monster in many, many years, meaning they know how to actually hunt so it’s her wish to teach the Americans how to do the job well, to make “America safe again.” Sam is still rebellious and won’t answer any questions. Toni sics her compadre on Sam. Tall British girl takes a blowtorch to Sam’s foot.
We return to Crowley who is still spying on the two demons. They are talking on the phone with Lucifer. After they hang up, Crowley appears and tells them they are stupid for following Lucifer. They beg to differ, since he is Lucifer’s pet. Crowley tells them that he is going to kill the devil and then he kills the two with an angel blade. He investigates the scene, a family murder, for information and finds one of the family members still missing.
Dean, Mary, and Cas find Toni’s driver. Cas beats him up to get information.
Tall British compadre tells Toni that a lesser man would’ve bent under this kind of torture. She suggests they bring in Mr. Ketch, but Toni says she doesn’t want that psychopath near her. I’m assuming this is a foreshadowing to more British Men of Letters troubles later. Toni says if physical torture won’t work then maybe another kind of torture will as she brandishes a needle.
At a roadside café, Mary is still shocked by the future. It’s a great scene of showing her point of view at how the world has changed for her. Castiel sits down with her and tries to empathize. Dean shows up and they start to talk when Cas sees the veterinarian pull up across the street.
The three of them interrogate the vet, and Castiel, again, is almost brutal in order to get information. They force the doctor to call Toni, who is about to hang up when Dean takes the phone. He threatens to kill her if Sam is hurt and when she hangs up, Dean breaks the phone in half.
On the way back to the bunker, a white and tan SUV bashes into the Impala. Mary is unconscious. Dean asks Cas to help her and he gets out of the car. He assesses the damage on the car and turns to the other driver. It’s Tall British compadre! She proceeds to kick both his and Cas’s asses. She taunts them and is about to shoot Dean when Mary runs the angel blade through her back.
Back in the basement, Sam is now uncuffed but he starts to hallucinate both images and voices. The images are all the people who’ve been hurt or killed in his life. The voices tell him that it’s his fault. He stands in front of mirror and breaks it. Toni watches on the camera as he takes a shard and drags it across his neck. She rushes in and finds him lying on the floor in a pool of blood.
Sam faked his injury, instead cutting his hand. Toni and Sam struggle and he almost knocks her out. He is escaping when she takes the taser and shocks him, rushing past him up the stairs. He grabs her but she kicks him and gets away, locking the cellar door on him. He screams and knocks on the door.
In the final sequence, Black Sabbath’s “Solitude” plays as Mary looks at her hands and is upset at what has happened. She tells Dean that this was not the life she wanted for them and that she’d gotten out. Dean assures her that this is what Sam and Dean do and that they have made the world a better place.
We turn to the next scene and see Crowley looking on as coroner’s take a body away. The last family member has been found with the eyes burnt out.
In the final scenes, Sam is alone in the basement. He falls into a restless sleep on the stairs as Toni watches him.
Welcome back to Supernatural and kudos to a great premiere episode! Looking forward to the season!
Specs:
1. Who do you think Mr. Ketch is? Will we see him soon or will we have to wait?
2. How do you think Mary will adjust to this new world? Was the kill a turning point for her? How can she fit into her sons’ lives now?
3. What is Crowley up to?
4. What are your thoughts so far on where we are going with the British Men of Letters story?
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