Supernatural Review of 10:23 “My Brother’s Keeper”
Directed by Phil Sgriccia
Written by Jeremy Carver
Original airdate 5/20/2015
“The Greater Love"
THEME
THEME
It’s all about the love one is willing to sacrifice in order to keep that one true love. Besides their brotherly love, there has always been one love that the Winchester brothers were willing to die for. There is one love both brothers would sacrifice each other for. There is one love motivating all that the brothers do. This is their love for the good and the innocent of the world and this love requires their wholehearted commitment and protection.
PLOT/CHARACTERS
“The Keeper”: Sam methodically concocts “hollow tips filled with Witch Killing Brew” and sends futile messages to Dean. Castiel enters to discuss their commitment to using the spell to rid Dean of the Mark of Cain. Sam has taken on the responsibility helping his brother. Is he his brother’s keeper? Well, he is trying to be.

“Face Down”: His face planted on the rug of a No Name Motel floor, Dean looks rough. Beer bottles litter the room where he’s literally fighting his demon. He drinks the stale bitter remnants of the night before. “I’m good.” He lies to himself.

“Gang of Fang”:Agent Dean appears at a crime scene to assist Rudy with clearing out a nest of Vampires; but, Demon Dean is only there for the kill. Dean doesn’t conceal his contempt for the dead Rose, slut shaming her for “looking like a whore”. (TWEET: Briana Buckmaster: “Sorry? A short skirt makes a gal a whore?”) The Officer chastises Dean for being callous, speculating that previous dark work has left a ‘mark’ on Dean. Dean rudely tells Rudy to leave.

“Rowena Calls the Shots”: Sam and Castiel enter with a loaded gun to encourage Rowena. Rowena is having none of that. She has a wee cup of tea to drink. They renegotiate and an agreement is reached: her freedom, and the Codex, in exchange for the spell.

“No Sugar Coating”: Dean interrogates Rose’s parents about her whorish behaviour. He assesses the situation and lays it out for them, “I came here and I smelled the deceit and the beatings and the shame that pervade this home and you know what, I don’t blame Rose anymore. No wonder she put on that skank outfit and went out there looking for validation right into the arms of the monster that killed her. Joe, who did this?” This isn’t Dean; it’s Demon Dean, and he’s craving a kill. Rose’s brother, guilt ridden, tells Dean where the Gang of Fang is.

“Ingredients”: The forbidden fruit, the golden calf, and the death of someone Rowena loves is not impossible because “Everyone loves something.” Rowena loves Oskar, a Polish boy. Rudy calls to tell Sam that Dean’s “not playing well with others” on the Fang Banger case. Sam gives Castiel Dean’s hair to work a crossroads conjuring.

“Fang Bangers Domicile”: A vampire washes his guilty, bloody hands and sniffs Dean too late. Demon Dean decapitates the vampire and kicks in the door. Crystal screeches on the bed while a vampire puts Rudy in a chokehold. Demon Dean could care less. “Do it!” He goads the vampire into stabbing Rudy and then decapitates the Vampire. Crystal: You coulda just talked. You just… Dean: You're Welcome. Demon Dean callously steps over Rudy on his way out.

“Washing Hands”: As Dean washes the guilt from his hands images appear before him in the mirror of a bloody Castiel and Rudy. For a brief heart breaking moment, we see the real Dean as horror and fear flash across his face. Then Demon Dean takes over elbowing the real Dean in the mirror. Demon Dean and the real Dean thrash it out in the motel room.

“Love For Love”: Sam takes in Dean’s damage trail, while Castiel summons Crowley to the crossroads. Classic Castiel and Crowley lines reminds us that we’ve been missing them this season. Given an option of “Blast or Beg” Castiel, weakened, but desperate to save the brother he loves does his best to plead for Crowley’s help. Crowley, reflecting on his love for revenge, agrees, “I’m in.” Sam sees the destroyed motel room. (TWEET: Alaina Huffman: Dean’s going to lose the deposit on that room.) Sam finds the keys to the Impala and a note on a Curtis Motor Court writing pad; “She’s all yours.” Dean loves his Baby but he gives her up to the brother he loves. Sam, however, is not ready to let go of the brother he loves.

“Date with Death”: Dean miraculously found time to decorate a deserted roadhouse and cook a “Bad fat” Mexican feast for Death, who loves a good snack. He summons Death to a “Party at Juanita’s”. “Kill me” now. Death, perfectly personified by Julian Richings, is unable to kill Dean. He retells the story of Genesis, yes for real, and reveals that the Mark is both lock and key preventing the darkness from entering the world.

Death tells Dean he has the option of giving the Mark to someone else; but, Dean cannot do that to anyone. Death then offers to relocate him somewhere far away, off the planet. The catch is that Sam has to die to ensure Dean and the Mark remain far away. Dean calls Sam to the party telling him, “Brother, I’m done.”

Phil/ Seth/Oskar/Nathan Dales’ Diner: If you were wondering about the expense of this set’s decor in the last episode, now you know. Crowley enters with a smack down and outs Oskar.

“Outer Space”: Dean and Death fill Sam in on the plan. “What? He’s gonna send you into outer space? This is madness, Dean.” (I have to agree with Sam here.) Sam is unconvinced that he should die for the greater good.
“The Cost”: Crowley has the ingredients.“The quince cost me a major IOU from a Palestinian warlock, the gold from the calf -- well let's just say I'll be hanged under certain sexual deviancy laws if I show my face in Jordan again.” Crowley came to the realization that his mother is capable of love, a moment the audience was not privy to, and that she simply does not love him. Rowena claims to have never loved anything, ever. Crowley snaps and in walks Oskar. (Would you give up an Oskar for Magic?)

Death tells Sam he must die to prevent further interference and “Then there was that time you stood me up.” Dean tries to convince Sam that the world would better without them because they are evil. He reminds Sam about the man he convinced to sell his soul, and how he bullied Charlie. Sam disagrees saying they were trying to do good and that Dean has done everything he could to remain good. Inexplicably, Sam punches Dean and they physically fight. Demon Dean kicks Sam’s butt to the floor. Sam gives up but refuses to say that Dean is anything but good. (Rather pointless violence.) Sam horks a blood gob on the floor and agrees that Demon Dean must be stopped. “Do it.” Sam echoes Dean’s earlier words. Death offers Dean the scythe. “Close your eyes.” The real Dean peeks through. Dean is unable to look at those puppy dog eyes and kill him. Sam cries. “Sammy, close your eyes.” (Ok that got me.)


“Wait.” Sam takes out Dean’s treasured photos telling Dean to keep them to guide him and help him remember goodness and what it was to love. (TWEET: Ryan Curtis “I imagine Dean being on a tiny planet. All alone. Looking at those photos.”) Aww, just like the Little Prince. “Do it” Death says “or I will.” Sam nods. Dean says, “Forgive me.” Then, in a surprising twist for everyone, including Dean, Demon Dean paradoxically kills Death. Death crumbles to dust. The Winchesters were willing to sacrifice themselves and each other for the good of the world. The Mark was not.

“Love Sacrifices”: Rowena must kill the one person she loved to gain the magic and freedom she loves more. With a hug and vicious stab to the throat with a fountain pen, Rowena makes her choice. Castiel looks away from the brutal blood spilling, willing to sacrifice his principles for the love of Dean. The incantation produces a knock down explosion and a streak of light that descends on the Mark and removes it upwards through the ceiling of Juanita’s roadhouse. Rowena, released from her chains, binds Castiel and Crowley. “Attack like a beast!” she commands Castiel while scoffing at Crowley’s disbelief, and ours, that she could be this powerful. She is delighted that Crowley will see what a true witch can do as he dies under her order, “Erase this evil.” Off she goes, headed into another well-earned season.

“Famous Last Words” “This is good. You get the mark off your arm. You get your baby back” Meteorites from Smallville descend into the earth. Streaks of black smoke rebirth, congregate, and begin to roll towards them. (TWEET: William Shatner: It’s like that Once Upon A Time Curse.) Dean and Sam rush to the Impala. Reversing, Dean hits a plothole sinking Baby up to her axles. (I’m sorry did I say ‘plotholes’, I meant ‘potholes’.) The Evil Darkness rolls over them. Back into the Black Abyss.

The Script
Confronted with wrapping the season up, tying loose plot points together that seriously tugged in many directions, plus formulating a cliff-hanger was no easy task for Carver. It was disappointing. There was excessive back-story catch-up and not just for this season but the whole Supernatural universe. Although the Book of the Damned plot flowed smoothly and predictably, the bargain with Death was overloaded. “Genesis was a lie? Shocker!” Although Death made a dead on delivery, there was too much information and Biblical knowledge jammed into the plot too late.
Sam: What evil? Dean: The Darknness
Sam: What the hell is that?
Sam: What the hell is that?
There were rather inexplicable events, too, such as the fistfight between brothers. Perhaps it was a late attempt to reproduce the Cain and Abel scenario. And, although there were some brilliant and memorable lines, there were many disturbing ones. We are accustomed to hearing misogynistic slurs while watching TV and movies but to have so many complied with in such a short time frame is repulsive. Was this intentional on Carver’s part? Does he know who makes up the majority of this fan base?
Dean: They let her leave the house looking like a whore.
Joe: By suggesting my daughter was a slut.
Dean: …skank outfit.
Dean: What the hell are you doing here Rudy?
Rudy: Oh, you know. Just this thing I got for dead girls.
Crowley: There once lived an evil bitch, sorry, witch.
Crowley: That lying manipulative whore mother of mine.
Crowley: Mother showed you her “mustn’t touch it’, again.
Death: Proverbial finger in the dyke.
Add some Oedipal complex, incest, Crowley’s sexual deviancy, and something “crawling up [Dean’s] ass” and it became excessive, rather like a teenager showing of their newfound knowledge of perversion. There was also some lost opportunities with signage: the No Name motel in Superior, Nebraska. Why? The signage of Kingdom Beer at the Crossroads, why, and Juanita’s. Why?


NICE TOUCHES
Acting/Characterizations: The real vulnerable Dean peeking through the Demon Dean: Jensen Ackles
Fiery Rowena: Ruth Connell
Angelic Castiel turning into a beast: Misha Collins
The old Crowley we love: Mark Sheppard
Delicious Death: Julian Richings
The heart breaking, weeping, brave Sam: Jared Padalecki.
Best Performance: (Super tough choice this episode) Jared Padalecki
Horror Element: The sniffing Vampire EWWW.
Special FX: The incantation’s after effect . The Darkness rolling in.
Great Lines: Gang of Fang, Fang Bangers,
Castiel: You're not in my contacts list.
Crowley: Beg.
Rowena: Poor Dean. (sarcasm dripping)
Goodness, Fergus, save it for the stage.
Not my literal heart, Feathers.
Allusions: Biblical - Pontius Pilot hand washing
Cain and Abel:“Am I my brother's keeper?"
Genesis
Whore of Babylon
Chess - Death: Dean Winchester has tipped over his king
Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos)
Director/Cinematography:
The red light on Crowley, Dean and Death:
The light that shines on Castiel:

Staring down the gun barrel:

Bloody knuckles and dead Rose high angle shot:

The POV shot on the bed with Crystal:

Foreshadowing the pothole:

High angle shot at the end with the Impala and darkness:

Music/Sound FX: “Carry on My Wayward Son” and the howling sound of Darkness.
Relatable Moment: That swig of the morning after, leftover beer.

Set: Juanita’s Day of the Dead décor and wall mural

Thanks To:
Springsfield Screencaps
Supernatural Wiki
All stills property of CW’s Supernatural TV Series
Comments
The placement of the sign outside was even in the exact spot where the fuel pump was at the Roadhouse.
Rowena and Oskar? What was that? Was this Oskar character even mentioned at any other point since she's become a character? Did they just create him out of thin air so they'd have a way to work the spell? Why did she love this kid so much and not love her own son? It wasn't explained at all that I could see, basically making the whole situation and poorly conceive and executed contrivance. It was so lame, and the emotion being poured out by Rowena and Oskar felt totally unearned to me. I went back to hating Rowena in this episode. I mean really? Were we actually supposed to feel something for or from her? Bleh.
Cas is becoming as useless as Sam. And that's pretty much all I got to say about him.
Crowley was fine.. back to his old snarky self, but he still got duped by his mummy, so even though he got his snark back, it seems his smarts are still missing. I am producing that he will wiggle his way out of his predicament. Maybe THE DARKNESS will show up at the most opportune moment and distract Cas long enough for Crowley to get away.
Death's appearance was awful. Don't get me wrong... I have LOVED this character, his air of menace and power, but they destroyed him here, and I don't mean just by killing him, which in and of itself was beyond stupid, but by making him the deliverer of a huge boatload of information that we've never heard before and that hardly seems to be connected to Supernatural as a show, but has now been crammed down our throats in clunky boring dialog. JR had the unenviable task of being 'exposition boy' (Hey! That's Sam's job!). It's an ungrateful job too and here had the added disappointment of revealing to us that all of the story lines they've spent all this time building up were in fact about to come to nothing because of the introduction of an out of the blue and completely unknown force called THE DARKNESS (how original!). It seems that the writers aren't satisfied with cannibalizing itself for story ideas any more, they've turned to lifting from Buffy and Lost as well. I have a hard time believing that the Winchesters, who've lived in the world of the Supernatural since birth, have fought with demons and angels, Lucifer and Michael, who began and then averted the Apocalypse have never even HEARD of "the darkness." It's poorly set up and it's improbable even in this made up world of fantastical things. Clearly the writers are spitting into the wind here. None of what they've done polities has made much sense this year. The characters are all over the map, no one, it seems, is paying attention to canon, story consistency or characterizatio n. Everyone keeps saying what a GREAT episode writer Jeremy Carver is....well, I don't see it. He does OK when writing the brothers together in scene, but his plotting and pacing is the same as his show running, poor. As far as I am concerned he wrote one good finale (Sacrifice) and all other episodes penned by him have been mediocre at best. He did great in season 4 when Kripke was telling him what to write; either that or Mystery Spot was a fluke.
Sam punched Dean to snap him out of it but the Pictures did that.
Thanks for translating the Latin for us.
Demon Dean was a sexist, judgemental douche. Remember how callously he treated that waitress in the early episodes?
Demon Dean is completely disassociated from human emotion, as shown when he went after the vampires. This hunt was quite a contrast to the last time we saw him destroy a nest. That Dean was full of life, enjoying himself. Finale Dean sure wasn't having a good time.
We'll spend all summer arguing over which Dean killed Death. The Mark Dean, to protext himself? Or the real Dean, to protext Sam? Does it even matter now that the mark is gone?
Crowley still has a witch in a hamster cage. The boys can start hunting for other Men of Letters bunkers. Roweena's spells have a tendency to go all wonkers. There's so much fun we can have with all the loose ends that I'm looking forward to this summer's discussions almost as much as next season.
Taquitos, anyone?
Did I miss something somewhere or did absolutely no-one, not once, call Dean out on taking the Mark in the first place? I mean, it was a very Dean thing to do but to have no-one pointing out that it sort of was his fault in the first place…?
Wow…I really need to vent. Thanks ?
My biggest concern for season 11, especially with the writing staff and show runner they have now, is that Sam will be blamed by everyone for releasing the darkness and he alone will take the brunt of that blame. No one will remember that Dean's actions (taking the mark) and words (you said you wouldn't save me) triggered all ensuing events in the first place and that the killing of Death, a completely separate act, will have no repercussions at all. I guess we'll have to wait and see but I am not holding out much hope given what's gone before.
Sorry about being so down on the episode; I know a lot of people enjoyed it and live for the broments but it just didn't work for me. The brothers, "maturely" working as a team, have broken the f'ing world again but hey, at least they're alive and talking. MoC Dean actually did say some things to Sam that made a lot of sense; if you're going to make a decision to try to close the gates of hell (IMO a bad idea), you better commit fully to it and see it thru.
While I didn't care that much for the Season 9 finale, at least Carver did a better job of cleaning up the mess he was left to deal with. And, quite honestly, that mess was of his own doing; he is the show runner, he is supposed to RUN THE SHOW !!!!!!!!!! They are clearly making this shit up as they go along; Kripke had a longer term vision; yes he tweaked and adjusted things along the way but did it in a way that kept moving towards his end goal.
I think it was Russ that made a great comment on the speculation discussion page for this episode
"One thing I loved about Kripke-era Supernatural, as unreal as it was, it felt so grounded and genuine. I believed, if this shit could happen, this is how it would happen."
Couldn't agree more with this; I have no idea how something as conceptual, ethereal as "The Darkness" is going to be able to be portrayed on a show like Supernatural; not terribly optimistic that they can pull it off.
And don't even get me started on Rowena..... ARGGGHHHHH!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!
I really didn't do a good job of explaining my issues with the entire scene with Death. It just felt off to me; I don't know if it was intentional by the writer but something just didn't feel right to me. I didn't have a problem with him being killed; Crowley had mentioned it was rumored that Death could be killed with his own scythe in S5.
As I said in another thread here somewhere, as long as they follow thru and make the Darkness a force to be reckoned with Season 11, I will be a happy camper. What I dont want to see is Leviathans Part Deux, "The Angels, they're falling" aka "The Angels, they're boring", the Grand Coven which turned out to be neither Grand or Covenly, the sooper-sekrit all powerful Southern-Hospit ality - Unless-They- Are- Cutting-Your-He art-Out -Stynes- of- the- Southern- Sensibilities Clan, who really werent all that and a bag of chips after all, and the Monster Mafia with the Chicago connection. The other thing I dont want to see is The Darkness personified as in a "An attractive man in his 50s in an expensive suit with a red power tie. In addition to donning a cape (every good villian needs a cape), he carries with him an very old oddly engraved walking stick, all while wearing some wicked kicks , 'cause no boring footwear for this guy, who pontificates about world domination, the lesser value of mankind and local politics all while smirking his best villainous smirk." Sound cheesy enough? But thats really kinda what Im expecting. Others? Ive read how its going to be Purgatory- like or Croatoan revisited... yeah, not so much. That big black cloud will probably pass right over the boys and well be back to business as usual. Like when the "Damned gates to Hell" were opened and all the darkness and evil that followed... Right? No? Whatd we get the next episode - The Seven Deadly Sins? Anything else? I dont remember. Personally, I think Carver has either bitten off more than he can chew or The Darkness isnt going to be the ever present threat that its being promoted as. Plus look at all the storylines hanging? Metatron with demon tablet running free, Crowley super sized, Rowena with both the BOTD AND the CODEX? Also Dean still doesnt know the extent of what went on behind his back and now - human sacrifice? I see the brothers together but it seems rather tentative to me. I also wouldnt be surprised if they had Dean take the MOC back voluntarily once more at some point. I dont think the MOC was destroyed, so much as removed from Dean arm. In closing - I want to know how the heck Dean looks so hot not only tearing up a room but also laying there all sweaty with his mouth hanging open, hung over with his face pressed into a dirty motel carpet? Mmmm sweaty, hungover, room wreckin' Dean. And for you Sam girls, how hot was Sam when he was sitting at the desk all determined, making his witch killing rounds all the while arguing with Cas? Mmmm... determined, round making, argumentative Sam. How frickin sexy is it when they make ammo? And breakdown and clean their weapons... Cmon Show! Were easy! We dont need all those fancy sets... Sorry, I digressed. See what happens when I think too much? ;)
I was wondering why you think that Oskar dying after Death is a continuity error? I saw the two deaths as being unrelated except in that they were both part of a plan to save/stop Dean, but although they were happening roughly at the same time, I didn't see them being connected to one another. Just curious.
I agree about THE DARKNESS!!!!! Unless Carver has a well planned out way of dealing with it, it has FAIL written all over it. Someone on another site said "what are Sam and Dean going to do? Battle THE DARKNESS!!!! and then don Fed suits and go to a crime scene?" And we all know how well this regime plans things out!
And I also agree about Death... he just stood there? He handed over a weapon that he knows can kill him to someone else? Seems pretty dumb for an all powerful being. Now, if this had been Kripke then I would have assumed that something else was going on. But with Carver, there hasn't really been any depth in years, so pretty much everything has been at face value. We spend all this time speculating on what must have REALLY been going on only to find out that what we saw is what we got. Ah! The old days.
Death, probably is not dead...PROBABLY .
Unfortunately I think Oskars death is on Sam as well. He told Cas "whatever it takes" and if Im not mistaken he was aware of the fact that this is where the cure list was going. I think when Dean finds out "whatever it takes" involved human sacrifice that he is going to have a hard time accepting it. Sam as well probably in retrospect. Like I said, I think they are more on each others side now but not what you would say 100%... I think there will still be issues between them, I also question whether the MOC is completely out of the picture.
Interesting point Cheryl. What struck me when I read it is that it describes DEAN for much of the show, at least the last 5 seasons. He's always been the one to call the shots for TFW, and even Cas and Bobby almost always went along with it. It kind of bothered me sometimes that Sam usually let Dean make the decisions because in the first few seasons Sam was not that passive. He always spoke up, and when the brothers butted heads about an issue, Sam would even prevail sometimes. So I've actually really been enjoying this forceful, decisive Sam we've been getting the last bunch of episodes. Granted, most of his decisions are probably going to be blasted and Sam vilified for them. So maybe that's why he's been written that way- I guess that was your ultimate point!
That's a good point Tealka. If TPTB do a great job with the Darkness plot next year, the viewers that don't like this out of the blue introduction of that story line might look back more fondly on this episode. I'm also hoping for more honest, calm conversation between the brothers about the dynamic between them. I couldn't believe Dean actually brought up the events in Sacrifice! It really struck me on my second viewing that this is the first REAL conversation between Sam and Dean in a long time. Most of their conversations this year were limited to Dean's changing feelings about whether or not to keep trying to find a cure, and Sam's exhortations to Dean to not give up. That's one reason I really disliked much of this season. So I LOVED their argument about whether or not the Winchesters are evil, and Sam's desperate attempt to convince Dean of his goodness. I'm really hoping next season will see a continuation of this openness between the brothers, rather than the usual blame game. Crossing my fingers!
I was so happy that Sam saved Dean. I loved all the brotherly love. Loved Sam's unwavering faith in Dean's goodness, his unwavering determination to save Dean. I am so happy that the MOC is gone. I can't wait to see old Dean back again, I have missed him so much.
Loved seeing Death again and I was very pleased to have it confirmed that he was actually there ready to reap Sam in 9.01.
I enjoyed the scenes between Crowley and Castiel and I am so happy that Rowena is still alive. For a long while I didn't like her at all but she's become one of the highlights of S10 for me. I am intrigued by the Darkness and looking forward to seeing how this storyline is handled next season. I kind of loved that the last word of the episode was Sam yelling 'Dean!' as the darkness engulfed them.
I enjoyed this finale so much more than last year's finale which I thoroughly disliked and never re-watched. This one I've already re-watched several times. I've been up and down wiith S10 (hated Claire sl, meandering MOC sl) but this finale has me looking forward to S11 and seeing what is going to unfold for Sam and Dean. I'm so glad to have the brothers back, I hope next year we continue to get the brothers together and that there's no more conflict and anger between them.
Dean must have known that if it was so important to Death that Sam die, Death would have killed the mortal himself--with a single touch. Instead, Death wanted Dean to feed the Mark as Cain had done when he murdered his younger brother. Presumably, the Mark would have been so empowered by a brother's blood, Dean instantly would have become the deadliest demon to ever walk the earth. Would the new Cain have consented then to spend immortality hungering to murder with no one to kill? Unlikely. Death didn't act like a well wisher who wanted to help Dean avoid becoming a killer of innocent people. Death acted like the blood hungry MOC.
Anyway, whoever or whatever he was, Death was a tempter--not unlike Lucifer himself. I suspect that Dean realized that and knew that this being was out to kill Sam. So, after being victimized by the MOC for so long, Dean finally took control. He played along with Death, brought Sam to the bar, and waited for the right moment to swing the scythe at his actual target. Does that seem possible?
Tealka, I think Death said he COULD remove the MOC but he WOULDN'T because he didn't want to release the Darkness. I'm not convinced Death is dead, and I too wonder if there was a reason why he wanted Dean to kill Sam, other than the fact that it made for a bitchin and unbelievably emotional scene. I also think Dean had truly decided that Sam must die, and that he only began to change his mind when Death told him to commit the act himself. In fact, maybe that's WHY Death told Dean to do it. Maybe it really was a test of some sort for Dean? Hmmm, food for thought.
That line looks mocking in the context of the episode, sort of an 'I win' but if you consider that Death had just mentioned that he failed to reap Sam before (thus bringing up the memory of that scene in 9.01), he could be said to be LITERALLY giving Dean 'the honor' that Death feels (one assumes it would be the same honor if he was reaping Dean, but Death has never tried that up to this point)
I know this is a sort of convoluted point, but it could be seen to imply that Death actually still has respect for the Winchesters. I am with everyone who thinks that absolutely no-one died/will die/will stay dead from the last part of the finale. I think Death did not underestimate the DCNM (TM) and his destruction was a trick.
On a more trivial note, what does this mean: DCNM (TM)?
:) I am removing the rest of my comment for the reasons Alycat outlined below, I don't want to steal her jokes ;)
In short, Carver isn't a good writer--not anymore. He's a very bad one and an even worse show runner.
But as with every single season since Carver arrived, the boys had to be in some type of conflict. I'm not sure why Carver believes this is necessary every single year, but he continues to do it. It's beyond annoying.
Wow, it was really just super, duper convenient that there just happened to be a 300 year old immortal guy out there that Rowena actually happened to love who was the PERFECT ingredient for this spell that they were cooking up, wasn't it? And LOOKIE, he lives so close by too! It's just.... wow! Boy howdy, they sure got lucky there didn't they?
Congrats everyone! SPN says you are immortal.
Or Oskar ISN'T dead and the spell will get derailed ...
Actually I'm quibbling. The whole Oskar issue is just a symptom of the larger problem which is spontaneous plot points with little to no planning or logic suddenly being dumped on us without warning. I have similar problems with TD!! As I've said before; When is a 'plot twist' not a plot twist? When it's just plain bad writing. The Oskar thing and TD!! came out of the blue with no set up and now they are trying to retcon them in with boat loads of painful exposition. It doesn't help that you can drive truck through the plot holes.
I don't know why E but it cracks me up that you're troubled by Oskar's lack of success. But it is kind of funny that all he has to show for 300 years is a job as a short order cook. It makes me wonder what other jobs/profession s Carver considered for Oskar that he would pick something like that. Rodeo clown? Nuclear physicist? Dolphin trainer at Sea World? Hedge fund manager? I kind of wish I could ask Carver why he went with cook.
In fact he said as much.