Supernatural kicks off its tenth season with “Black,” written by Jeremy Carver and directed by Robert Singer. The premiere isn’t what I would call explosive, unlike season nine’s broken heaven landscape or season eight’s escape from purgatory. Instead, “Black” focuses on the characters, rather the world around them, setting the stage for a season where “the fate of our characters is at stake.” So, what will be the fate of our characters? Where will their paths take them this season?
While we can’t answer those questions yet, “Black” suggests several potential arcs that could be explored in really intriguing ways. After the always-fun “The Road So Far” sequence, set perfectly to Pat Benatar’s “Heartbreaker,” the first scene opens with a woman, Dar (Raquel Riskin), being tortured and speaking incredulously of a Winchester who is “one of us.” She taunts, “Whatever soul you had, whatever boy scout code you cuddled up to at night – it’s all gone, leaving what? Look at you.”
The end of season nine saw Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) “die,” and then awaken as a demon, but Dean isn’t the Winchester she’s addressing. Instead, it’s Sam (Jared Padalecki) who’s wielding the bloody knife and demanding information about Crowley and his brother. If I’m estimating the timeline correctly, this scene takes place only a week or so after Dean disappeared from the bunker. While Padalecki portrays Sam’s desperation, something about the scene feels off for me. When Sam shouts at her, his intensity doesn’t match the rest of the scene, which I suspect is because of lost context. Perhaps the rest of the scene (if and when we get it) will flesh this out and lessen the exaggerative quality of Sam’s outburst.
The scene also raises questions about what Sam has already done to find Dean – when Dar taunts Sam about being “one of us,” what exactly does she mean? I never noticed Dar’s eyes flashing black, even when she was threatened and in pain. On the other hand, Sam does cut her neck and capture the blood, ordering her to “make the call,” which is something I only recall demons doing. So what is she saying about Sam? That he’s a monster? Or has he become something, and if so, what? Spoilers have me wondering if perhaps Sam is delving into witchcraft?
The distinctive season ten title card – which I absolutely love – then makes its debut, and we get a time stamp of “four weeks later.” Sam is in the bunker, working, and we see books on possession and research materials. Though he’s physically alone, he’s working online, listening to a police scanner, and checking in with people via phone. Sam isn’t exuding the panicked desperation of the opening scene; he appears calm and collected.
Last season, mirrors were often used to chart Dean’s decline, the most heartbreaking in “Metafiction” (9×18), a clip of which was included in the “The Road” montage. Here, we see Sam wash his face and contemplate his reflection, and though it’s blurry, he looks directly into his own eyes. It’s a moment that makes me wonder what exactly Sam is seeing, though the fact that he meets his own eyes says quite a lot already.
We also see Sam detour to Dean’s room, where a note still lays on the pillow. Sam opens it and reads, not for the first time, the words, “Sammy let me go.” Besides the fact that I really want to insert the appropriate comma there, this poignant moment shows that Sam has left Dean’s room as he found it, a memorial to his lost brother. The note also raises questions about how much of the “real” Dean still exists.
When Sam find a story online about a suspicious murder in Wisconsin, he promptly calls Castiel (Misha Collins). In his first scene of the episode, an ailing Cas is asleep in bed in a very rustic motel room. When I watched the sneak peek, I thought that the figure in the bed was Dean – and now, despite knowing that it’s Cas, I still see the resemblance until Cas opens his eyes. The visual connection emphasizes for me just how much Dean and Cas’s arcs have developed in tandem over the past few seasons.
Sam quickly realizes that Cas isn’t doing so well and backtracks, saying that he was wrong about the lead, and “I jumped the gun here, buddy.” Cas insists that he can help, but Sam patiently reminds, “We tried that.” Cas acts defensive and protests, “Sam, you can’t blame what that demon did to your shoulder on – on me. You were out of…” Cas doesn’t finish his sentence, and we’re left wondering what happened and when. Sam and Cas express no animosity towards one another, and there’s no tension; even when Cas bristles at the implication that he can’t help, that’s obviously more about his own insecurities than anything else. Their amicability is reinforced when Sam reassures his friend, “…I’m not blaming anything on you. What happened… happened, and you need to be worrying about yourself. I really shouldn’t have bothered you.”
Instead of commenting on himself, Cas instead asks, “How are you Sam?” Sam responds that he’s “good” but will be “Better when we get [Dean] back, after I kick his butt.” His use of “we” here reinforces the stability of Sam and Cas’s friendship, as well as their found family unit as a whole – it’s not just Sam getting Dean back; it’s Cas too. And just when I thought the scene couldn’t get any more heartfelt, Carver adds a heartbreaking and momentous line: Cas admits out loud, “I miss him.”
Why is this important? Well, if you’re a fan of the Profound Bond, the answer’s obvious. But even beyond that, this is Castiel, angel of the lord and former “good soldier” who has continued to wrestle with the impact his love for humanity has had upon his loyalties to heaven. And he just plainly and clearly voiced the exceedingly human emotion of missing Dean. I may or may not have needed to grab the tissues. Cas expresses bewilderment, even hurt, that Dean would “just disappear.” Sam isn’t convinced that Dean had a choice, but Cas points out that Dean wrote and left a note. He asks, rather plaintively, “think there’s any chance, any chance at all that Dean is still…” Cas trails off and Sam finishes the thought, “still even remotely Dean?” Sam goes quiet, and the conversation ends there. We see Sam alone in the bunker’s kitchen before shifting briefly back to Cas, alone in his bed.
It’s disconcerting to hear “I’m Too Sexy” overlay that image of Cas as the scene transitions to Dean (Jensen Ackles) singing very bad karaoke while Crowley (Mark Sheppard) hangs out with presumed friends of theirs. Though I better understand the rationale behind Demon Dean’s behavior now that I’ve seen “Black,” I still have trouble watching these scenes. They veer so far into cringedy territory for me that I can’t fully appreciate the message that this Dean is a far cry from the lovable hedonist we’ve seen in the past. But maybe I’m supposed to cringe here for that very reason?
My cringing continues as Dean continues to behave like a jerk. When the scene shifts to Dean in bed with waitress Ann Marie (Emily Ford), he goes from discussing the “good sex” to telling her not to “get too excited or too attached.” I love that Ann 
Marie responds pointedly, “There’s about a million other ways you could’ve said that.” Crowley enters the room just as she’s leaving and admonishes Dean for having sex in “my bed.” The biting conversation turns into Crowley calling Dean “Jerk,” and Dean answering with “Bitch.” Those familiar with the show’s early years know that this exchange is sacrosanct, and Crowley’s appropriation seems wrong – that’s the point, though. I see this moment as Crowley reinforcing what many saw in season nine: He’s cultivating Dean’s connection to him. Here, he’s invoking Sam’s presence here; later, it’s Cas’s. But first a half-naked and oblivious Dean has to put on pants.
We see further evidence of Crowley and Dean’s camaraderie when they engage in a game of foosball with the two men from the karaoke scene. They lose the game, which Dean blames on Crowley. When Dean catches sight of Ann Marie’s ex, he follows him, demanding, “You need to get away from here. Don’t try to contact her. Don’t even think about her. You understand me?” He then punches the guy repeatedly and viciously before looking at Ann Marie for – it seems – some kind of affirmation. Instead, she looks disturbed, and Dean huffily storms back inside the bar. Crowley observes the entire transaction.
Meanwhile, Castiel is still resting when Hannah (Erica Carroll) arrives. This initiates the second no-pants scene, though, unlike Dean, Cas realizes that something is causing “awkwardness.” At first, this scene didn’t make sense to me. Yes, it parallels Dean’s, but why would Hannah – an angel who so far embraces her angelic status and all that entails – even notice nakedness? Now, after rewatching and contemplating, I’m wondering if the obvious parallel suggests that, at least in some ways, Hannah is to Cas what Crowley is to Dean.
Hannah has come to request Cas’s help (again) in restoring order in heaven. Does anyone else find it ironic that she wants his help to hunt down “rogue” angels? When Castiel is the most rogue of all the rogue angels? It doesn’t seem that Cas, who often speaks of angels as separate from himself, even makes this connection – or, perhaps he just doesn’t want to. Even at episode’s end, I remain suspicious of Hannah’s motives, particularly after she repeatedly observes him with a very speculative expression.
As with Sam earlier in the episode, there’s a scene where Cas looks into a mirror. He’s getting ready, and he appears pale and sickly. Unlike Sam, though, Cas doesn’t ponder his reflection; he only looks up to wipe the water from his face. As he does so, he inquires about heaven, and learns that reorganization is underway; Metatron remains in jail; and the door has been made permanent. Hannah’s there to ask for help locating the “rogue” angels Daniel and Adina. I suspect that Cas agrees to temper her desire for their punishment, as well as to be useful in what time remains to him.
While Cas assists Hannah, Sam is in Portage County, Wisconsin, investigating the lead. Sam’s viewing of the Gas ‘N Sip surveillance video alternates with scenes of Dean fighting with a demon at the Black Spur. When Sam sees Dean in the security footage, the detective voices what must be one of Sam’s questions at this point: “We don’t know if this guy’s a hero or a psychopath.” Without the detective present, Sam rewatches frame-by-frame and is horrified to see Dean’s eyes flash black.
Dean’s picture uploading to the wire leads into a short, awkward, scene where a man (Travis Aaron Wade), whom spoilers have revealed is named Cole, is lifting weights while his wife serves their young son breakfast. When a fax arrives – and are we supposed to make socio-economic judgments based on the outdated fax machine’s use? – the boy brings it to his father, and the woman asks, “Is it him?” She begins to cry and leaves the room. Cole selects his weapons of choice from his private arsenal and packs his gear, including the fax of Dean in the Gas ‘N Sip.
An equally awkward scene then occurs with Cas and Hannah. While Hannah gets some fresh air to quell her nausea (apparently Cas’s driving skills could use some work), she asks about his health. He replies that he’s fine, which he argues is true because “it’s my truth.” Hannah points out that he’s dying, but Cas retorts, “We have a mission in front of us that supersedes my needs – all of our needs wouldn’t you agree?” Though I question if Cas’s interpretation of their mission is the same as Hannah’s, I think at heart they are united in the desire to restore heaven. I do continue to wonder if there’s an ulterior motive here and if part of Hannah’s mission is to bring the rogue Castiel back “home.”
Meanwhile, Sam is interviewing the Gas ‘N Sip clerk, Mickey, whose sass is highly entertaining. Sam finally manages to learn that “porn guy,” as Mickey calls Dean, asked only one question: “Where’s the porn?” However, Mickey does pass along the victim’s phone for Sam to take to the station, and once outside, Sam calls the last number.
Crowley isn’t surprised that it’s Sam calling on the dead man’s phone: “Moose! Took you long enough. Your brother and I were beginning to wonder if you’d hit another dog.” Sam responds that Dean is dead and accuses Crowley of having Dean’s body possessed. Crowley happily corrects Sam’s assumption: “Your brother is very much alive, courtesy of the Mark.” Sam confronts Crowley about sending Abaddon supporters after Dean and vows to save Dean or “die trying.”
As always, Sheppard delivers Crowley’s lines with delightful aplomb. Crowley takes Sam’s declarations in stride and retorts, “You know what tickles me about all this is what’s really eating you up. You don’t care that he’s a demon. Heck, you’ve been a demon – We’ve all been demons. No, it’s that he’s with me, and he’s having the time of his life. You can’t stand the fact that he’s mine.” Sam protests that Dean is not Crowley’s “pet.” Affronted, Crowley sets Sam straight: “My pet? He’s my best friend, my partner in crime. They’ll write songs about us, graphic novels – The Misadventures of Crowley and Squirrel. Dean Winchester completes me, and that’s what makes you lose your chickens.”
This revelatory exchange clues Sam into what’s happened with Dean, but it also allows Crowley’s to manipulate the younger Winchester – he is saying exactly what will anger Sam as well as what will undercut his confidence in his relationship with his brother. At the end of season seven, Crowley manipulated circumstances to leave Moose “well and truly on [his] own,” which led to Sam hitting the aforementioned “dog” and leaving the hunting life (7×23, 8×1). This time, however, Sam maintains his focus, instead promising, “I am going to find you. I am going to save my brother, and then I’m going to kill you dead.” Crowley taunts that Sam has to find them first, knowing that Sam is tracing the call and will be in North Dakota within a day.
While Sam tracks Crowley and Dean, Cas and Hannah track Daniel and Adina to a campsite. In a lovely creek scene that reminds me of Purgatory, they find Daniel fishing for trout. The conversation that follows is interesting and, perhaps ironically, calls back to Cas’s lament in “The Man Who Would Be King” (6×20), that “explaining freedom to angels is a bit like teaching poetry to fish.”
Daniel, who’s contentedly enjoying nature, speaks poetically, using trout as a metaphor for angels. Of course, Cas – who’s fought for free will so many times – gets it, but Hannah remains resistant and balks. Daniel argues with her, “Perhaps it is you who has failed to get the message.” She protests, “All of us serve at heaven’s command.” Though Hannah is very much mirroring Cas’s internal struggle when he was first introduced to the concept of individual freedom, I don’t understand this line. There is no leader in heaven – so who’s command is she saying they serve? Season four Castiel and the other angels followed commands upheld by the infrastructure God arranged, namely Michael and the other archangels (sans Gabriel). So what’s going on here?
Daniel isn’t persuaded by her insistence, pointing out that the fall changed everything. He looks pointedly at Cas, whose expression seems apologetic, even embarrassed. Hannah says that they are angels “once and forever,” which I interpret as foreshadowing for a concept that will be irrevocably overturned (and will hopefully lead to Cas choosing a human life). Daniel eloquently explains his reasoning: “Dropped unwillingly, unknowingly into a strange land, a land that, as it turns out, celebrates the free, the individual. For the first time in thousands of years, I have choices. And with each choice, I begin to discover who I really am.” Hannah shuts Daniel down and pulls her blade, but Cas intercedes, claiming “There is time… to convince him to the right thing.”
But what is the right thing? Cas doesn’t want more angels to die; he wants heaven restored; he wants to right the wrongs against his brethren that he sees as partly his fault. He also loves humanity and values his own experience as human. Dying because of his waning grace and without Dean, who Cas thinks has willingly left both him and Sam behind, Cas seems unsteady. This scene sets a foundation for further self-exploration as he decides what is “right” for him. Daniel’s encouragement that they stay for sunset because “nighttime around here is a revelation” cements that interpretation for me. After all, “revelation” is what angels called the moments in which they communed and sought direction.
Back at The Black Spur, Crowley confesses to sending “demon chum” Dean’s way because “the Mark needs to be sated, otherwise…” Dean finishes for him, “Otherwise, I turn into a demon. Yeah, yeah, I sort of got that six weeks ago.” These lines caught my attention: What does Crowley mean here? That Dean will be more demon? Or does Dean not know how deeply he’s already changed? Dean sums up Crowley’s actions with a simple, “You lied.” Like Meg (8×17), Crowley owns up to it. “Who do you think you’re talking to here? Does the tin man have a sheet metal willy? Of course I lied.” Dean makes to leave, but Crowley asks him to stay because they need to discuss their “professional future.”
Crowley asks Dean to help him restore order, to create the “perfect Hell.” Dean protests that he was promised howling at the moon with “no expiration date.” Crowley points out, “We’ve howled. We’ve bayed. We’ve – We’ve done extraordinary things to triplets, all of which have been massively entertaining…But now it’s time for us to accept what we are and go back to work.” (And let me just say that I want more information immediately about the Crowley/Dean/triplets experience.) Crowley presents Dean with, essentially, the choice that Hannah presented to Castiel: Work needs to be done, so let’s do it. Unlike Cas, though, Dean says, “Pass.” Crowley tries to assure that their “howling” isn’t over, promising, “all of this that’s bloomed between us never ends. We’re not ending the party, we’re just moving the party. Out with the club circuit, in with the stadium tour.” He also informs Dean that Sam is on the way, confirming (for me) that he knew exactly what he was doing earlier. Even if Crowley feels genuine emotion for Dean, he continues to manipulate both Winchesters.
Dean accuses Crowley of selling him out to Sam, and this is where Crowley invokes Castiel. He says, “Everything I’ve done for you the past six months – the mark, the first blade, mid-wifing you back to life, offering you a seat by my side – has been a favor, a gift, whether you see it or you don’t.” As I heard this line, I immediately thought of Castiel telling Dean, “I’m hunted. I rebelled. And I did it, all of it, for you” (5×2). Crowley’s spin suggests a personal investment in Dean, just as Cas has always had, and perhaps there is a real connection there. But the underlying manipulation is not Castiel-like at all and instead reminds me of Zachariah’s scheming and threats of what might happen if Dean didn’t “appreciate” all that heaven had done for him (S4-5).
As Crowley predicted, Sam is on his way to North Dakota, only his car dies on a lonely, dark road. A man – Cole – offers help, though I cannot believe that Sam Winchester, even though he’s injured, would accept help from a stranger without having a weapon at the ready. Cole jokes about the car’s “computerized brain” (much as Dean would’ve) and then reveals that he sabotaged the car before knocking Sam unconscious.
At The Black Spur, Dean is drinking and singing, enjoying his last night before he has to answer Crowley’s proposition and leave to avoid Sam’s impending arrival. This scene shows Dean in a downward spiral, but is it a demon-y one? I also find it distracting when Dean’s wearing a tan shirt in one shot and black again in the next. All in all, this scene is a harder one for me to buy. Later, when Ann Marie brings Dean water, he invites her to go away with him. She wisely declines, citing that they just met, and he’s drunk. Dean points out that he’d protected her honor but fails to persuade her. She replies, “Whatever is going on with you has nothing to do with my honor at all…I wait tables at a roadhouse. I meet the bad guys; I meet the good guys. And maybe for a second there I thought you were a good guy playing bad…” The use of “roadhouse” jumps out at me here, a reminder of The Roadhouse and the Harvelles, particularly Jo; in some ways, Ann Marie reminds me of Jo and her ability to see through Dean (5×10). But the near-family connection that Jo had with Dean is something that Ann-Marie lacks, and he goes for the metaphorical jugular.
He coldly describes himself as “the kind of guy who sleeps with every skank in every small-town dive he passes through.” It’s a disconcerting moment to hear Dean be so cruel, especially to Ann-Marie, whom Crowley described as “damaged” earlier. Her reaction is heartbreakingly self-aware: “Now see, I’m so screwed up myself I’m going to walk out of here thinking I actually deserved that.” It’s a somber moment, and while Dean looks sad as he sits alone on the bed, I’m not sure he actually is – if he’s a demon, isn’t he devoid of all sentiment?
Back at the campfire, the angels aren’t exactly singing “Kumbaya” as Cas unsuccessfully plays mediator. When Hannah contemptuously asks, “What wisdom is to be gained from humans?,” Daniel decides that he’s no longer speaking to her. When Adina arrives, Daniel introduces both Hannah and Castiel which I found odd because after everything, how does any angel not know Cas? The conversation quickly turns violent between Adina and Hannah, and when Daniel attacks Hannah, who’s wounded, Cas kills him. Adina attacks Cas, wounding him before she runs away.
As Cole restrains Sam, he shares a childhood story about breaking his arm while with his older brother Davey and clarifies that he’s known Dean for years. Sam cautions that Dean is a “monster” and should be left alone. The one hint of what happened between Cole and Dean is given here: “He was [a monster]. Yeah, he was. Many, many moons ago. Now he’s prey. And I’m the monster now.” Despite Cole’s arsenal and training, I daresay Dean still outranks him on the monster scale.
Back in the Casmobile, Hannah says they need to report what’s happened. Cas points out that Daniel and Adina just wanted to be left alone, but Hannah believes “Without rules, there’s chaos,” which leads to very bad things, like the rise of Naomi. (How she doesn’t mention Godstiel is a mystery to me and heightens my suspicions of her even more.) Cas, of course, disagrees: “[Humans are] seemingly nothing but chaos. Not all bad comes from it – art, hope, love, dreams.” Hannah’s expression conveys alarm and concern: “But those are human things,” she says. Cas glances at her and looks away before agreeing.
The scene then cuts directly from Cas driving in the rain to Dean driving in the rain. Dean’s phone rings, and the caller ID shows it’s Sam; I assume this isn’t the first time Sam’s called him, but it’s seemingly the first time Dean’s bothered answering. Only it’s not Sam on the phone; it’s Cole, who announces, “I’m karma, brother.” At first, the exchange seems “normal,” with Dean asking if Sam’s still alive and for proof of life. But then a truly awful moment occurs: Cole holds the phone up and tells Sam to speak. He doesn’t know that the two haven’t spoken in months, and Sam looks completely gutted as he stares at the phone. Instead of speaking, Sam steels his jaw until Cole punches him, eliciting a grunt that serves as proof. Sam yells Dean’s name once, as Cole walks away.
The most demon-y moment of the entire episode then unfolds. First, Dean refuses to meet up with Cole, though he does promise that “somewhere down the road” he will find and kill him. Cole points out that Dean’s revenge will be “cold comfort” to his “dead brother.” Dean – in totally un-Dean-like fashion – shrugs off Cole’s comments: “I told him to let me go so whatever jam he’s in now? That is his problem.” Cole promises to pass that on as he’s “slitting [Sam’s] throat.” Dean again appears unfazed and simply says, “Yeah, you do that. Because he knows me and he knows damn sure that if I am one thing, I am a man of my word.” Dean hangs up then, and we’re given a brief glimpse of Cole, taken aback by Dean’s response, and Sam, who’s still restrained. The last scene of “Black” is Dean driving in the rain, staring straight ahead, looking purposeful and angry. I’m left wondering if Dean means what he said – Does he truly not care if Cole kills Sam? Or is there enough of the old Dean in there that he’ll act on longstanding loyalty and save his brother?
Supernatural likes to use parallels, and they abound in this episode: Circumstances challenge Dean and Cas’s old loyalties (to family and heaven, respectively); Crowley and Hannah tempt Dean and Cas with restoring order; Cas verbalizes his emotions whereas Sam (and Dean, if he’s not entirely devoid of them at the moment) do not; Sam and Cas literally look into mirrors to symbolize their identity struggles; and so on. In addition to the more obvious parallels, there is much hinted at, too – from the backstory of Sam’s shoulder injury to details of Crowley “midwifing” Dean back to life. I’m curious to see if the narrative eventually fills in these gaps, among others.
In the end, though “Black” is clunky at times, it’s an enjoyable episode that lays the foundation for promising storylines. Next week’s “Reichenbach,” per the extended preview and sneak peek, promises new developments as Cas learns what’s happened to Dean, and Sam comes face-to-face with his brother. Supernatural airs Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. ET on the CW network.
Other notes:
- Dean’s shirtless scene with Ann Marie reveals that his wounds are healed; how is that possible? Can he heal his body because he’s not possessed?
- Cas still has his Enochian tattoo, so how does Hannah find him?
- If Metatron’s door to heaven is now permanent, have the souls in the Veil been released? (9×14)
- Did anyone else think the Portage County detective’s shield resembled a devil’s trap?
- How is Dean’s image not already in a facial recognition database somewhere – particularly after the leviathans undertook the season seven murder spree in the Winchesters’ names? Are we to assume that Castiel or Charlie cleared their records?
- So demons are carrying angel blades on a regular basis now?
- Because of the volume of tweets for “#Supernatural,” the show made the Nielsen Social “Daily Top Five” again! The last time was March 4, 2014.