What happened to Dean’s beer? This is the biggest question I took away from this week’s episode. There was a lot going on in this midseason premier and some other important questions were raised, but this is the one that is sticking around and driving me nuts. 

Sam had a point when he told Dean he probably just drank it without noticing. He’s been drowning himself in alcohol all season (and even before that). But we know that’s not the case. We heard that little magical chime sound when Dean picked it up. Something else is going on.  There are two possibilities that stick out in my mind. Please tell me if you’ve thought of anything different because I’m dying to figure this out. It could very well be Bobby’s spirit. He was given one final chance to follow the reaper and instead he chose to savor his final memory with Sam and Dean. So if he was never reaped then he’d still be floating around, right? And he’d definitely be drinking beer. The other possibility that comes to mind is that it could be a set up for Castiel’s 1-2 episode return. (Did they ever confirm if it would be two episodes?) I mean, it wouldn’t be the first time he hid out in the background watching Sam and Dean. I think he’d be less likely to make himself known by drinking Dean’s beer. But I don’t want to rule out any possibilities. 

So if this phantom drinker is Bobby, where is this storyline going? It’s unlikely that he’ll be able to stick around as their invisible colleague so will they find a way to bring him back? Or is he just hanging around to help get revenge on Dick Roman? Will Sam and Dean have to find a way to help Bobby let go so they can put his spirit to rest? There are so many questions. And if it turns out to be Castiel, which I think is less likely, what does that mean? Has he been watching them this whole time? Is he trying to help Sam and Dean or is he simply gathering information? And where the hell is the impala!? Oh sorry, that question slipped in there. 

I kind of can’t believe how much else they managed to fit in to this episode. It was a whirlwind of information but somehow it didn’t feel rushed. The writers even managed to include an interesting and well-developed monster of the week storyline.  I’d put that in the win column. 

The flashes of the weeks following Bobby’s death were heartbreaking. We all know how much these boys have lost but this felt like a new level of pain for them. It left them completely immobilized which is something I’ve not seen from them before. Even when John died Dean worked on fixing his car and Sam worked on fixing Dean.  They were both doing something. They did eventually get off the couch and start obsessing over the numbers Bobby left them until they got a call from Krissy. 



I really liked Krissy. She was smart and sassy and she gave Dean a run for his money. There have been a fair number of child-focused episodes in the past seven seasons and it’s always a bit of a risk in my opinion. It can be hard to get a believable performance out of a child, but throw in the Supernatural aspect of the show and you make it even harder. There have been many very good episodes with kids and in my opinion this was one of them. It wasn’t a stretch to believe that Krissy was raised in the life. I actually thought she was playing dumb when Sam first came. There’s no way to hide the fact that you’re a hunter from your child. Especially if they think you’re a salesman. The injuries alone would give you away. Still she was able to outsmart two very capable hunters. 

Krissy’s scenes with Dean were very funny and enlightening. Dean made it pretty clear that he didn’t give a rat’s ass about hunting these vetala or saving Krissy’s father. The only reason he showed up was to save Sam.  That’s classic Dean tunnel vision at work. He’s completely obsessed with getting revenge for Bobby’s death and the only thing that could distract him from that is Sam’s safety. So he was actually pretty rude to Krissy when he first met her. Although her pulling a gun on him and destroying the research didn’t help her case much. Dean does eventually soften towards her in the car. Once he sees her desire to go to college he tells her she could leave the life if she wanted to. Dean is maybe the last person on the planet I would expect that from. He’s the only hunter Bobby ever knew that got out and managed to start a new life. And even he couldn’t make it stick. But when he begs her father to give up hunting and start a new life I realized that he still think it’s a possibility. Just not for him. 



While Sam was off hunting the vetala Dean spent some quality time with Frank. Using probability generation Frank was able to figure out that the numbers Bobby left were part of some coordinates. And he realized that the coordinates pinpointed a piece of land in Wisconsin that was recently purchased by a subsidiary of Richard Roman Enterprises. But this plot development wasn’t the most interesting piece I took away from Dean’s time with Frank. Frank’s story about finding his wife and children dead was much more heartbreaking. As was his advice to Dean to either give up hunting or decide to make it through the day and plaster a fake smile on his face. I mean that may work for a while but look at Frank now? He’s lives in solitude, losing track of time, obsessing over his work. Plus he’s just crazy. Probably driven mad with grief that he never dealt with. But Dean latched on to this advice because it means pushing his feelings under the rug instead of dealing with them. Watching Dean try to smile at the end of the episode was awful because his pain was so evident. But we know Dean so we know he’ll make this approach work for him for as long as possible. 

Meanwhile Sam had no trouble admitting that he’s not ok. And who can blame him? We’ve been told that the second half of the season would be focused more on Sam’s Lucifer problem and I can’t help but wonder if this emotional stress will be the thing that puts him over the edge. If it is, I wish we had seen a few indications of it in this episode. Lucifer was mentioned in The Road So Far but we didn’t get anything after that. Maybe this episode was meant to give Dean a way to present the strong front he’ll need to help Sam through a possible breakdown? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. 

So what did you guys think of the episode? Were there any other’s out there hoping we’d see Bobby alive and well? I was 75% sure we wouldn’t but that 25% was holding on for dear life! What did you make of the land Dick Roman acquired? 

There were some other moments and funny quotes worth mentioning:

* “Gweneth Paltrow’s not a leviathan…”

*Frank: “You think it's easy to see inside what's real, and also be bi-polar with delusional ideation. There's no pill for my situation sweety-pop, so yeah the big mouths are on to me. Next question!”

*Sam: “Since when do you read?”
Dean: “Don’t be rude to me, Sam.” 

*Dean: “What’s she doing?”
Frank: “Being a naughty, bossy little girl.”
Dean: “I'd hate to ask for that in the non-porno version.”

*Dean in the cherry picker was priceless. Talk about drawing attention to yourself. 



*Dean: “I’m not gonna walk out on my brother.”

*Dean: “I’m a fun guy. I’m actually awesome. But right now I’m not in the mood.”

*Dean: “Now shut up. Eat a cookie or something.”

*Krissy: “You’re brother’s the size of a car”

*Krissy: “What century is this? No-one fist bumps anymore.”
Dean: “C'mon. Give it up!”
Krissy: “You're a dweeb.” 

*Dean: “I will frisk you.” And she hands over the lock pick? I am so confused by that!

*Lee: “Ever know anyone who left the life?”
Dean: “No - they all get killed first.”