Focus on the whiskey bottle almost empty and Sam is sitting on the bed, wide and awake and as jittery as can be. Shouldn’t he be passed out drunk? Either his alcohol tolerance is that of Castiel’s or someone switched the alcohol content with caffeine. Either way, this is not the appearance of a man that’s been drinking heavily. I’m sure it’s also meant to show how he’s not sleeping. Sam hears the Impala pull up (who could miss that?) and looks outside. It’s daybreak and he’s apprehensive over what he sees.

 

Sam goes downstairs to see what’s going on. Crowley is at the bottom of the stairs and Sam asks about Dean. Crowley motions the other room and tells Sam for the record, he’s against this. He points out a high level defection like this is delicate business. Sam tries to go in the other room but Crowley stops him. He isn’t done yet. He admits he begged Dean not to come back for they should be miles away from him. â€œHe replied with a colorful rejoinder about my corn chute.” That gets a tiny laugh out of Sam! How cool. The proper reaction for once. It lasts only for a split second though before he goes back to sneering, but it’s something.

 

Crowley tells Sam to go ahead. â€œRuin our last, best hope.” Sam gives one more sneer and goes in. â€œIt’s only the end of the world,” Crowley has to add just so he can get the last words. Diva demons do that.   Dean is in there with Brady, who still has the hood on so Sam can’t see who it is. He’s tying him up to a chair. Sam looks at the captive and then Dean, who when finished comes over to talk to him. â€œWhat’s going on Dean?” â€œI need you to stay on mission, okay, focused.” Sam, a little worried, doesn’t know what this is about. Dean says he’s doing this because he trusts him, but that’s when Brady starts to stir. â€œSam? Sam, is that you?” Oh no. Sam is puzzled so Dean goes over and removes the hood. â€œBrady?” Sam asks. Yep, they know each other. â€œBrady hasn’t been Brady in years, not since oh, the middle of our sophomore year.” Sam’s heart sinks into his stomach.

   

“What?” Sam asks, now looking at Dean alarmed. â€œYou had a Devil on your shoulder, even back then,” Brady says. Sam takes this in and all sorts of things are going through his head. Brady knows the one thing that’s coming out of this. â€œAlright now, let it all sink in.” Now Sam is flipping the rage switch. â€œYou son of a bitch! You introduced me to Jess!” He charges after Brady, who’s got that whole evil demon smirk going and Dean holds him back. â€œDing, ding, I think he’s got it.” Dean fights to hold Sam back, but Sam won’t stop and is threatening to kill Brady. Dean drags Sam out of the room while Brady breaks into an evil laugh now.

 

Dean tosses Sam into the other room, but Sam tries another charge but Dean pushes him back. â€œHey, that’s enough!” Dean orders. Sam commands that he get out of his way. Dean says no so Sam repeats his request. â€œThere’s only one way to win and it ain’t by killing that thing in there,” Dean tries to explain. Crowley enters at this time. â€œWell, sounds like you’ve got him nice and fluffed. Thanks so much.” He leaves and goes into talk with Brady. Dean goes back for more logic. â€œListen to me, we need Pestilence to get at The Devil and we need Brady to get to Pestilence.” â€œWhy?” Sam asks. â€œBecause Crowley said so? Because we trust him now like I trusted Ruby? Or like I trusted Brady back at school.”

 

You know, I’ve heard the complaints how implausible it seems that there was an Azazel accomplice back then considering one was never mentioned before. Hey, sometimes little reveals like this are needed for the sake of drama for a show in its fifth season. I know its history rewriting itself, but it happens. I’m cool with it. What I’m not cool with? Dean looking at Sam like he has a point but this is different and says nothing. Why cut the scene there? Where is Dean defending his logic? So here’s what he said off camera. â€œNo Sam, we don’t trust Crowley, we don’t trust demons. But what choice have we got? We’re out of options. We’ve got nothing to lose.” You see, it works!

 

Crowley pulls up a chair and straddles it in front of Brady and I love this visual. The two of them in chairs face to face with that natural lighting coming through large the window. Great one guys! Crowley starts. â€œLook, do the math yourself. If Lucifer wins, he’ll turn this place into his kingdom. When the morning star cleans house, we all get the mop.” You know, I’ve read tons of material where Kripke has projected himself into the character Chuck The Prophet. I’m thinking Ben Edlund’s projection is Crowley. This dude’s dialogue, offbeat attitude, strange way of thinking, it’s got Edlund all over it. Okay, that might be a stretch given the gayness too, but Edlund’s always liked using homophobia as part of his humor.  Sorry, back to recap. Brady doesn’t see the logic since Lucifer created them, as in demons. Why would he destroy them? Crowley wisely points out to look at who, or what, he is and what they are. Listen to him Brady, those aren’t crazy colored eyes Luci’s sporting. Brady suggests that Crowley be a little less worried about their necks and be more worried about his.  â€œIt has crossed my mind, but it’s not really the point,” Crowley answers. That is the point actually. No one will know greater torment than him. He gets to live forever. Brady on the other hand, he knows he’s dead whether he tells him anything or not. â€œSo I’d rather die on the winning side, thanks.”

 

Crowley accepts reasoning with this guy isn’t happening. â€œGood talk. Cheers.” He leaves and joins Dean in the other room. â€œWell how’d it go? Did he buy Girl Scout cookies?” That’s one persuasive way to sell cookies. Those girl scouts do use similar tactics you know. Don’t let them in your house. â€œWhere’s your moose?” Crowley asks, noticing Sam isn’t around. Wow, Sam hasn’t been called that before. Talk amongst yourselves, which zoo animal do you think Sam would be? I’d say…moose. As for Dean? Howler monkey. Ha! Dean replies Sam is cooling off. Sure he is.

 

Crowley tells him to get packed. Dean wonders if he’s going somewhere. Brady won’t budge so Crowley is going to stick his neck out. â€œWhat are you going to do?” â€œExactly the kind of desperate swashbuckle I’ve been trying to avoid.” Drama queen! He’s going to kick up a hive of demons. Before going he stops and tells Dean, “This whole bloody ring business better work.” Gabe’s about the most reliable source I can think of. Better than you Crowley. Dean is in total agreement, looking down in fearfully over the alternative, which is death for everyone. He looks up and Crowley is gone. Wow, that one look on Dean’s face says so much! He’s really scared about all this. 

 

Again, I’m really enjoying this episode, but I’m not seeing the slow build up to the major conflict we get with many other episodes. It’s just slow. Granted I’ve seen really bad slow recently, so at least the character drama here is working. The dialogue is great too and this is so a setup for what’s coming. I’m okay with that. Dean is in the bathroom and the abandoned house has running water? Go figure. He washes his face, looks up in the intact mirror (?) and the bathroom door shuts. We see on the other side it’s Sam closing it. Sam wedges a chair under the door so Dean can’t get out. Oh that’s going to do a lot for the brotherly trust issues. Dean of course pounds on the door and yells, but Sam says nothing and pulls out the knife. Oh Sam, what are you thinking? Oh right, not thinking. Raging. 

 

Brady senses Sam approaching and realizes it’s time for a showdown. â€œWe doing last words or no?” Sam goes back to what’s bothering him, sophomore year. Brady talks about how “Brady” was a good kid, best friend, which made him a perfect point of access. Sam brings up Thanksgiving. That was when Brady came back from break all messed up, doing the whole dropping out of pre-med, the drugs, the bitches sort of thing. â€œThat was the new Brady, that was me.” Sam gives him that ultra freaking scary “if looks could kill you’d be incinerated” look. Yikes, remind me not to get on the bad side of him. 

 

“Remember how much time you spent trying to get me back on the right track? You really were a good friend.” Then Brady goes all evil again, mentioning how yellow eyes didn’t send him back to be his friend. They were losing him. â€œYou were becoming a mild mannered worthless sack of piss. Come on, we couldn’t have that. You were our favorite.” Oh no, that Sam Winchester rageahol starts seeping through. â€œSo I hooked you up with a pure, innocent piece of tail. And then I toasted her on the ceiling.” Sam is trying hard to control that internal rage, although judging by that tight grip on that knife, it’s one intense fight. Jessica is obviously a THE trigger. 

 

Brady goes on, because demons love to use monologuing to push buttons. Azazel put out the hit on Jessica, but he got to have all the fun. Oh no, Sam is not making it. Brady goes for the final jab, talking about how Jessica thought they were friends too. She let him right in, she was baking cookies.  The camera closes in on Sam’s pure face of rage now. Yep, he’s coming unglued. Brady laughs over how surprised and hurt she was and that’s enough. Sam charges for Brady and puts the knife up to his throat.   Brady challenges Sam to do it considering he knows releasing that internal rage only gets Sam ready for Lucifer. Sam trembles and then slices Brady slightly on the neck.  Brady challenges him to finish the job since he wants to die for the right cause, sending Sam to the dark side. Sam’s eyes and twitching says he wants to in the worst possible way, but he stops himself. Brady laughs as Sam leaves the room. Way to go Sammy! You’ll get to kill him when the time is right.