Everyone's favorite crime-fighting gang is back on this week's episode of Supernatural.
Picking up where last week left off, Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Sam (Jared Padalecki) were in shock when Cas (Misha Collins) turned around and greeted them. The two were understandably confused about what happened to him and why he was there if he was actually dead.
“Yeah, I was. Then I annoyed an ancient cosmic being so much he sent me back,” Cas responded.
Destiel fans heavily rejoiced when Sam was at a loss for words, but Dean wasn’t and gave Cas a bear hug and a “welcome home, pal.” The boys brought Cas back to the bunker, where he was reunited with Jack for the first time since his birth.
After being reunited, Jack found a case in Dodge City, Kansas, that appeared to involve a zombie. Dean is more than willing to take the case a few hours away, saying, “Two salty Hunters, one half-angel kid and a dude who just came back from the dead, again. Team Free Will 2.0, here we go.”
After some investigation, the team realized it had a ghoul who would take on the form of Dave Mather, the notorious gunfighter. The “zombie shapeshifter,” as Jack put it, robbed graves and banks to gather enough money to move to Los Angeles with his girlfriend so she could follow her dream career.
Mather was robbing a bank when a gunfight broke out. Jack, wanting to be helpful, ran out and took the bullets to his chest with ease. Taken aback, Mather was confused when Jack used his powers as a force field, but, in the process, managed to redirect a bullet to the bank teller and kill him.
Mather ran off, and Dean raced after him. In a fast-paced chase, Dean is forced to crawl down a grave and finds Athena and a sheriff in town being held captive. Dean successfully rescued them and, in an attempt to talk down to Mather, Dean and the sheriff team up to take a headshot at the ghoul, and thus proving that Dean’s still got it.
Back at the bunker, Dean, Sam and Cas tried to reason with Jack and assured him that they all have body counts and blood on their hands. Jack, unable to accept his mistake that cost a life, apologizes profusely and again uses his force field to disappear.
The episode, titled “Tombstone,” plays tribute to the 1993 classic Old West film that starred Val Kilmer and Kurt Russell. It was a relief to see Dean so giddy. The episode transitioned from previous dark material into more hopeful and fluffier scenes.
It’s almost hard to imagine that, just last episode, Dean killed himself with no hesitation for the sake of a case. Ackles explores his range with Dean’s apparent and obvious obsession with the Old West. It gives further character and plot range into future episodes.
Supernatural is no stranger the gun-slinging scene. In fact, season 6 featured an episode titled “Frontierland,” in which Sam and Dean were trapped in the 1800s, so this wasn’t exactly a new concept for the show.
Dean showed his carefree nature with the knowledge that Cas is in fact, alive. When Cas asked how long he was gone, Dean replies with “too damn long.” Also, when Sam questions Dean sudden change in behavior, Dean answers with “Well, I said I needed a big win. We got Cas back. That's a pretty damn big win.”
Dean also starts to change his perspective on Jack, which is encouraging for fans to see Dean relearning his basics and what the show stands for: family. Jack, excited to wake Dean up and tell him about some progress in the case, scares Dean and, in turn, Dean wakes up with a yell and automatically aims his gun in defense. Dean, not showing anger, asks who’s making the coffee. Again, when Jack is guilt-ridden about his inadvertent manslaughter, Dean assures him that he is not a monster and if he is, then they all are.
Dean’s change in perspective gives ambiguity to what Team Free Will 2.0 will accomplish in the future.
Supernatural airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on The CW.
